Brand New
by MandyLeigh87
Summary: Edward never came back and it's been haunting Bella ever since. She's excited to start fresh in Seattle, but when an unexpected visitor comes back to her life how will she react?
1. Happy Birthday Bella

"Vodka cranberry" I said to the bartender as he passed. I wasn't a big drinker but I was alone, on my birthday. My boyfriend Danny promised to take me out, then ditched me for his friends in typical Danny fashion. He knew birthdays were hard for me. It was my 18th birthday that had started all the trouble between me and Edward. Edward. I guess you could say he was my high school sweetheart, except he was a vampire, which complicated things quite a bit.

I took a sip from my drink.

When Edward left, it hit me really hard. I went through a rough patch for a few months, before I met Jacob. He was my very own sunshine in the dark world I was living in. He was my best friend. He had always hoped he would be more than that, but it just never worked out for us. I eventually got out of my rut that I had fallen into, but I had never gotten over Edward, even now. It hurts to think about him.

I went to college after high school, majored in literature. Sure it was something I was interested in, but it didn't get me anywhere. I moved to Seattle shortly after graduating from college and got a job at a small bookstore a few minutes away from my apartment. That's where I met Danny. Of course, he wasn't in looking for a book, just a bathroom. You wouldn't catch Danny reading anything, except for maybe Sports Illustrated or the Sunday comics. But I stayed with him because I didn't want to be alone. I hated being alone. Jacob got married two years after I left, and we stayed in touch, but his life was back in Forks. His wife, Mary Ann, was expecting their first baby any day now.

My dad, Charlie, visits a lot. He keeps begging me to come home, but I can't stay there. There were too many memories, good and bad and I felt like I needed a fresh start. My mom has been up here once, to help me move in. She lived in Florida with her husband Phil and said that the weather up here made her aura dark gray whatever that means. Apparently it's not so good.

I was brought back to reality when I looked down at my drink and noticed it was completely gone. A guy sat next to me, looking a little more than buzzed, and smiled in my direction. _Great, _I thought, _just what I need right now. _

"Hey there," he said arrogantly, "Can I buy you a drink?"

_Oh brother._

I turned away from him and pretended to be pre-occupied, twirling a piece of my long brown hair in my fingers.

"Hey," he said again.

_Wow, he is not going away, _I thought, starting to get uncomfortable. Now I turned my whole body completely the other way.

"I'm not finished talking to you yet," I heard him say as he grabbed onto my shoulders and spun me back around.

"Hey what's your prob-," I started. I froze when I felt a cold hand on my lower back.

"Sorry I'm late sweetheart," a voice from behind me said. I froze. _No,no no, _I thought. I must be hallucinating…or maybe it's the alcohol. I've only had one.

I stared straight ahead, terrified to turn and see who my savior was. A cold pair of lips pressed against my cheek.

"Hello," he said to my annoyingly pushy admirer. "Thanks for looking after my girl for me until I got here, I wouldn't want to have to get _unpleasant_ with anyone," he said. I heard the strong emphasis on the word unpleasant. I still couldn't will my body to turn. I closed my eyes, blinking hard several times hoping the cold sensation on the small of my back would go away, that I was imagining it.

The man sitting across from me looked absolutely terrified. He quickly got up, grabbed his drink and bolted. I thought I heard him stutter "No problem" as he ran away. Now there was no one else here, just me and my "boyfriend." I stared straight ahead as he stepped ahead and turned to face me.

"I'll need a shot of tequila," I said to the bartender.

"Hello Bella," Edward said as he sat down.

I downed the shot as soon as it was placed in front of me, but I still couldn't speak. I just stared, unblinking at the person sitting in front of me. _How can this be happening? What is he doing in Seattle, let alone at this very bar? What are the chances? This is absolutely impossible I can't believe this is happening to me! This is just…._

"Complete bullshit!"

"Excuse me?" Edward said, looking very confused.

_Oh man. I just said that out loud. Crap._

"Another," I called to the bartender.

As I took the other shot, I kept my eyes on the warm butterscotch eyes staring intently at me from the other barstool. The eyes I used to get lost in. The eyes that could make my body melt. I could feel it now, though I was pretty sure it was the alcohol, or maybe a mixture of both.

"Are you going to say anything else besides "complete bullshit"?" Edward asked.

"I don't know yet," I said slowly.

He laughed. One of his beautiful laughs that echoed in the room. I turned to the bartender again fully intent on asking him for another shot of tequila. He must have read my mind, or the absolute shock in my eyes because instead of pouring me a shot he just pushed the whole bottle towards me with his pointer finger. I smiled tentatively at him, thanking him for the gesture. I took the tequila bottle in my hands and held it in my lap before turning my eyes back to him.

"Wh-…" I began. "What are you doing here Edward?" I asked when I could finally pull my brain together, or what was left of it at this point.

"Umm, well we actually moved back to Forks…I heard that you left, went to college or something."

"Ummm…yeah," I said.

"We're here celebrating Alice and Jasper's wedding. They're getting married…again."

"You're all here?" I said, my eyes widening.

He gestured behind me to a small table way in the back. I turned to see all of them- Jasper, Alice, Rose, and Emmett- staring at me tentatively. Well, until Emmett's face lit up in a goofy grin as he waved enthusiastically at me.

"Eh," I said as I slowly raised my hand, slowly bring my fingers down to meet my palm. It was all I could muster of a wave right now.

"You really should be more careful Bella, going to bars by yourself, you're lucky I came in when I did," he noted nodding to the guy, who was now talking quickly to a group of his friends. He was noticeably terrified; I knew Edward could have that effect on people. When the guy and his group saw Edward glance their way they quickly dropped their heads as if his gaze would turn them to stone. I wanted to giggle, but my face felt permanently fixed in a state of disbelief. I took a sip of tequila, straight from the bottle.

"You should watch yourself with that stuff," Edward said with a laugh. "It can really catch up with you."

_Why the hell does he care?_ I thought angrily to myself. _He left me, he told me he didn't want me, why would it matter to him what happened to me now?_

I must have had the oddest look on my face while I was ranting to myself because he grabbed my arm. I felt the electric shock, just as strong as it had been all those years ago. I looked down at my arm then back up at his face. He felt it too, but tried to hide his face with a smile.

"Are you okay? You don't look very well," he asked looking very concerned.

My head was spinning and my entire face felt numb. Actually my whole body felt numb. I'd never drank this much alcohol in my entire life. Not even when Danny dragged me to a kegger him and his friends were having.

"I'm….fine," I said adamantly as I began to stand up. Apparently my body wasn't so sure. My left foot caught on the bar stool and twisted my ankle around as I plummeted towards the ground. Any other time I would have face planted in front of the whole bar, but he caught me of course, pulling me back up on my feet and holding me stable.

"I think I should take you home," he said as he moved his hands down to my waist.

_Watch it Mr. Grabby hands, _I thought to myself as my eyes glanced down at his arms, now wrapped in a gridiron around my waist. His eyes followed mine and he immediately brought them back up to my shoulders, obviously embarrassed.

We stumbled out of the bar, my arm draped over his shoulder and his arm tentatively wrapping around my back with his hand gripping the back of my head. He hailed a cab right away.

"Thank you Seattle!" I screamed to the passerby's granting strange looks from all of them. "Good night everyone!" I slurred as Edward pushed me gently into the backseat.

"14th street please," he said politely to the driver.

I tuned to face him again.

"How…do you know where I live?" I asked.

He simply held up his hand where my driver's license was resting between his 2nd and 3rd finger.

"Pshhh," I garbled, looking back at the road. _Of course he found my driver's license, he's Edward freaking Cullen._

We were back at my place in no time and he helped me out of the cab.

"Ha" I laughed looking up, way way up, towards my balcony on the fifth floor. _A five-floor walk up seemed like a good idea then. Now, not so much. _

Before I knew it, Edward scooped me up in his arms, just like he used to and carried me up my stairs. It took all of ten seconds, where it would have taken me about 5 minutes, and that would have been completely sober. I was pounding on his chest the whole time and demanding that he let me down. I knew I wasn't hurting him, but for some reason, probably named tequila, I just kept on going. He laughed at my drunken display. The last thing I remember was being placed on my bed, in between my cool sheets, before drifting off to sleep.

When I woke up it was still dark out. I rolled over to glance at my alarm clock. _Ugh, 4:36 AM._ I suddenly realized I wasn't alone as I noticed a figure sitting in the chair in the corner of my bedroom.

"Gah!" I said as I jolted up.

"Relax Bella, it's just me," Edward said without moving an inch.

_Crap, I was hoping it was a dream…or that I was delusional…or just really drunk. _Suddenly I didn't feel so great. I tried to untangle myself from the sheets, almost falling out of bed in the process. I barely made it to the bathroom in time before I came face to face with my night's alcoholic conquests. Out of the blue I felt a pair of cool hands brushing across my neck, gathering all my hair and pulling it back. One hand traced down from my neck and was now rubbing my back in a comforting way. _He was comforting me. Why was he doing all this? I had no clue what was going on, but I was glad he was here. _

"Thank you," I whispered quietly before descending back into the darkness.


	2. Tequila Sunrise

It took me a few minutes to realize that the pounding I was hearing was coming from my front door and not from the throbbing headache that had taken up residence in my skull. I reluctantly opened my eyes, squinting into the sunlight that was pouring through my window. I brought my hand up to my face, first placing it on my forehead before slowly bringing it over my eyes. Another loud pound make me jump.

I swung my legs, very slowly I might add, over the edge of my bed and planted them firmly on the ground. I tried getting up but swayed slightly and fell back down onto the bed. I grabbed at my nightstand for some support when I noticed a small piece of paper slanted against my lamp. On it, were two words, in his perfectly written script.

Happy Birthday.

I smiled a little as I grasped the paper in my hands. The smile widened as I got up and sauntered to the door._ Maybe he went and got me breakfast. _The thought lifted my spirits a little. Danny never did anything like that for me, and he definitely wouldn't have taken care of me last night. My smile was still apparent as I opened the door, intent on seeing Edward standing there, but my smile fell as soon as I saw my visitor.

"Danny," I said.

"Geez babe, what took you so long, I've been standing out here forever," Danny said as he brushed past me towards the television.

I just stared at him, still obviously pissed about him ditching me from last night. He stared back, completely oblivious.

"What?" He said as he grabbed the remote from the table.

I stared back at him with the same piercing anger.

"The game's on, you should clean up, the guys are coming over. You look like shit," Danny said not breaking his gaze from the screen.

Even though I definitely didn't appreciate his choice of words, Danny was probably right. I needed a shower, and maybe it would give me some time to think and calm down.

I turned without a word and headed towards the bathroom. The hot shower felt amazing, releasing all the tension that had built up in my back and neck. I stood, the water running over my body, thinking over last night's events. I jumped and let out a little scream when I heard the toilet flush. The water turned ice cold.

"Danny! You're such an ass!" I screamed as I opened the shower curtain slightly. He looked back at me with an uninterested look.

I closed the shower curtain and continued washing the shampoo out of my hair. When I finished, I stepped out and began drying off. I could hear his friends, they were already here. Great. I wrapped myself in my robe and stepped out to an array of cat calls and whistles. _Jerks._ I walked silently into my bedroom and closed the door. After drying off, I got dressed and took a couple of Tylenol. There was a book sitting on my nightstand that I hadn't started yet, so I picked it up and went to lock the door before looking towards the window. Opening it, I crawled out to land my feet on the fire escape and looked up. Only a couple of flights up, you could see the rooftop, my goal. I slowly made my way up, climbing up the ladder rungs one by one, never looking down.

The roof was almost completely open, except for a little old greenhouse that sat in one corner. A few of the windows were broken but I had placed some fabric over them to prevent the wind from coming in. Inside there were large pillows strewn in one corner, a fabric hammock in the other. I brought a lamp and some candles up from my apartment when I first discovered this place. Danny had pissed me off, yet again, and I had locked myself in my room. He was banging intently on the door, threatening to break it down. I was frantic just to get away when I remembered the fire escape. Once outside I had decided that going up was probably better than going down, so I crawled up. I remember feeling so excited when I first saw it. It was my own little sanctuary, my own little place where no one could touch me. I spent so many days and nights up here just reading, or sketching. Sketching was new to me, but I really loved it. I never thought I could be good at something like that, but I was forced to take an art class in college. I figured anything with paint or clay was probably a bad idea for someone as clumsy as me. A pencil and paper seemed like a pretty safe choice.

I spent a few hours reading in the hammock before moving to the pillows to sketch. I didn't even realize what I was sketching until I paused for a moment. I was sketching eyes. His eyes. _Ugh,_ I thought. _This is not good._ I glanced through my last few sketches. _His hands, his hair, his mouth. Damn. I was in trouble. _I closed the sketchbook and sighed before cleaning all my supplies up. I had to be to work in an hour. I climbed down and back into my room without Danny ever knowing I was gone. When I left my room, his friends had left and he was lounged on the couch, drinking a beer.

"I have to go to work," I said, giving him his cue to leave.

He got up and strode over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around him, in a very unenthusiastic hug.

"Hey," he whispered.

I looked up at him as he bent down to kiss me before tightening his hug around me. I was wishing it was a different pair of arms around my waist.

"Ouch Danny, you're hurting me," I said as I wriggled out of his grip.

I pawed and grabbed, trying desperately to hold on.

"I have to go to work," I said opening the door.

He walked out the door and I followed suit, locking it up behind me.

I walked the few minutes to work while he went and did whatever little Danny things he did all day.

The sun was just starting to go down as I walked in. The next couple of hours passed by uneventfully. We weren't busy, like usual. I was surprised we were still in business, we were such a small shop. But I loved it here. It was so charmingly perfect and smelled of leather and old paper. I was restocking an area in the back of the bookshop when I heard the bell sound, signaling the front door had opened. I peeked through the bookshelves but I saw no one.

"I'm looking for Bella Swan," a voice said politely.

_Crap. _I thought. _Now he knows where I work?_

I started to slide down the aisle while still peering through the cracks of the bookshelf. The employee lounge was a few feet away, maybe I could make a break for it. Just as I was about to round the corner, my foot caught on something and I went down. The books I was carrying flew out of my arms into a small bookshelf at the end of the aisle, which caused it to knock over spilling books everywhere.

"Bella are you alright?" Edward said helping me off the floor.

"I'm fine," I said brushing myself off. I froze when I saw blood trickling down my arm.

"Umm, you should go, I can take care of this," I whispered to him as I ran through the door to the employee lounge. There was a first aid kit somewhere in there. I spotted it on the wall right beside the door and fumbled to get it open. A pair of cool fingers replaced my own as he grabbed some antiseptic and a bandage.

"Edward, it's okay I can do it," I demanded.

"No it's okay, I can deal with this," he said as he carefully began cleaning the gash on my forearm. He whipped the bandage on and gave it a little tap.

"There, see?" No problem at all," he said flashing his smile.

"I should get back, I guess I have a huge mess to clean up," I said as I walked through the door. But the mess was gone. There were no books on the floor, no sideways bookshelf. Everything was neatly in its place.

"Thanks," I said before turning back to face him.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned.

"Well, it's been awhile…and, well I was wondering if you wanted to get together tomorrow night?" He asked tentatively.

"Wow, umm I don't know about that Edward, it's complicated," I said looking at my feet.

"What are you afraid your boyfriend won't approve?" He asked, smiling his amazingly crooked smile.

"How do you know about Danny?" I asked, a little frustrated that he knew all of these things about my life.

He didn't answer me, just stared at me, never breaking his smile. _Crap. He's pulling out his dazzle right now. He knows I can't resist that._

"I'll meet you at your place around 8," he said quickly before turning and walking away.

"But-!" I started, but he was already gone. _Well this was going to be interesting._

When I got out of work it was pretty late, almost midnight. I was surprised when Danny wasn't waiting outside for me like he usually does. I made my way home and started changing into my pajamas. I started brushing my teeth when I heard a furious pound on the door.

"Bellllla," Danny howled. _Great, he's drunk._

"Hold on," I called back to him, spitting my toothpaste in the sink before heading to the door.

He barged in, barely able to walk straight.

"So what your other boyfriend isn't here?" He yelled.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I started defensively.

"That guy, that stopped into your work today…I saw him," he screamed.

"That's ridiculous Danny, he was just an old friend from Forks," I said trying to justify myself.

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say.

"From Forks?...Was that Edward?" He started towards me. "Ohhh it was, wasn't it?" He was so close I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Danny get away from me," I demanded as he pushed me up against the wall.

"Your little Edward come back for you, did he? Too bad. You're mine now, he had his chance remember? He didn't want you!" He screamed in my face.

He grabbed my arms a little too tightly, and pinned them to my sides. I had never seen him like this before.

"DANNY, you're hurting me, STOP!" I shrieked, tears starting to run down my face.

I didn't see the punch coming, but I definitely felt it. Right to my right eye. My hands instinctively flew up to shelter my face from any more blows. He took me by my shoulders and threw me towards the corner of the room, causing me to fall backward onto the table. My hands refused to move from my eyes as I anticipated the next blow. I heard him panting heavily, before turning away from me and stomping out the door, slamming it behind him.


	3. World Spins Madly On

FYI: I did use a playlist for this story and I put it on my profile. Most of the songs were just kinda in my mind while I was writing it and some were so fitting for a chapter I named a chapter after it.

I stayed in the corner all night, crumpled into fetal position, terrified to move. When morning came, I forced myself to get up. I walked straight into the bathroom and stared in the mirror. The face staring back at me was someone I didn't recognize. She had a black eye, a cut across her cheek, and tons of scratches all around her face. _I'm not this person; I'm not someone who lets her boyfriend beat her up. _I grabbed a washcloth from the cabinet and doused it with warm water before I started cleaning my face up. There was no way I could see Edward tonight like this. I had to call and cancel, but I had no idea where my phone was. I shuffled back into my room, feeling like every joint in my body was in pain. I spotted it on the floor, among the mess of broken glass. As I reached down for it, I cringed at the sharp pain shooting up my back. I straightened back up and turned to the mirror, lifting up the back of my shirt. There was a gigantic bruise forming down the right side of my back. _Yikes,_ I thought, _that's going to take a while to heal._

I sat back down on my bed and shook my head. _How did I let it get this bad? Should I call the police? No, no that will only make him more mad. And he has cops that are friends, it probably wouldn't do me any good. _

My phone started vibrating in my hand. I looked at the caller I.D. _Edward._ Just the person I needed to talk to. _God, I hope he doesn't think anything is wrong. If he cared about me in any way, shape or form and saw what Danny did to me, I can't even imagine what he would do._

"Hey Edward," I said answering the phone.

"Hello, I wasn't sure if this was still your number," he said.

"Oh you didn't go searching for my phone records or anything," I said with a laugh trying to make a joke. Not a good idea. My ribs must be bruised.

"Listen Edward," I continued. "About tonight, I don't think I can make it. I…I got called into work," I lied.

"Oh well I'll talk to your boss and see if he'll let you off," he suggested.

"Oh," I said trying to fake excitement. I did not want him talking to my boss, just another person to ask questions. "Well I guess I can talk to him, I'm sure he can find someone else," I said defeated.

"Okay then well I'll see you later then," he said as he hung up.

_Great. I had to cover up these bruises. I hated makeup but I couldn't see Edward like this. Not a chance._

I got dressed, very slowly, and put on my biggest pair of sunglasses before heading out to the drugstore to get some makeup. I didn't really wear foundation or cover up so I didn't have any lying around. I felt like people were staring at me the entire time. _Yeah I'm the girlfriend out shopping for makeup to cover up the bruises her boyfriend gave her. _My sunglasses felt like they were getting smaller and my black eye bigger. I got out of there as soon as I could and spent the rest of the day trying to get the makeup just right. _I could really use Alice right now._

I was dressed and presentable by the time Edward got there, perfectly punctual. I opened the door, and noticed right away I was really underdressed. He stood there in a really nice shirt and jacket, along with dark jeans that fit his form perfectly. I looked back at my drab clothes and started to speak.

"Ummm, I can go change into something else if we're going somewhere nice," I said looking back at him.

"No, no. You're perfect the way you are. And besides we're staying in tonight. Kinda," he said with his crooked smile. He walked in the apartment and went right into my bedroom. _What the hell is going on?_

"I don't understand," I started, "What…are we doing then, that would involve my bedroom?" _That didn't sound right._

"Come in here…please," he called.

I walked in to my bedroom and noticed he was standing next to my open window.

"Close your eyes," he said laughing.

"Why?" I asked, very curious as to what he was doing.

"It's a surprise," he answered.

I eyed him suspiciously.

"Please," he said again, perfectly polite.

I walked over to him, crossed my arms across my chest, closed my eyes and started tapping my foot.

I felt him scoop me up into his arms again. _So unnecessary,_ I thought. But there was no use arguing with him now. I couldn't tell if we were moving or not, but after a few seconds I could feel the breeze from outside. It was unseasonably warm for Seattle, even in the dark. We must have reached our destination because he set me back down on my feet.

"Can I open my eyes now?" I said slightly annoyed.

"Yes," he answered softly.

I began to open them very slowly and I couldn't believe what was in front of me. We were on the roof, my roof. But it didn't look like my roof at all. There were thousands of white Christmas lights strung across it and white paper light globes hanging from an invisible string. A small table was set for two, with a silver plate cover on one side, presumably for me.

"Oh. My. Goodness. Edward did you do all this?" I said while turning towards him, I couldn't hold my smile. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

"Yeah well, I have a small confession. I kinda followed you up here the other day. I was curious to where you were going when I saw you climb out the window," he said.

I should have been mad that he was following me, but I couldn't be. Not with how amazing this looked.

"Are you hungry, or do you want to wait a little?" He asked.

"I can wait," I said my eyes giving the roof another glance.

He gestured towards the greenhouse. I stared back at him, wondering what he had done in there. I walked slowly towards the door and cracked it open. All I could see were candles. Candles on the floor, on the shelves, covering almost every inch of the greenhouse. I saw something was weighing down the hammock, so I strolled over to see a brand new set of drawing pencils in a beautiful wooden case.

"I saw you sketching the other day, I didn't realize you were into that," Edward started, suddenly behind me. "The guy at the store said they were the best."

"Thank you," I smiled at him. "You really didn't have to do that." I was really hoping he hadn't seen what I'd been sketching. That would be embarrassing.

"You didn't happen to catch any of my artwork did you?" I grimaced.

"No I didn't, I figured that was personal and you'd show it to me if you wanted to," he noted.

"Phew," I said with relief.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Oh no…it's not that, it's just that…I'm still learning so they're not very good yet," I said lying through my teeth.

He sat down on the pillows and looked back up at me.

"So how long have you been sketching?" He asked, seemingly curious.

"A little over a year, I had to take an art class before I graduated from college."

"And you majored in literature," he continued his inquisition into my life.

"Yeah, I really loved it, but as you can see all it's gotten me is a job in a bookstore…I mean I love it there, but I just always thought I'd do more," I said becoming more comfortable talking to him. I slinked down into the hammock.

We talked for over an hour about what college was like, why I moved to Seattle, little aspects of my everyday life.

"So…," he started, "How long have you been with your boyfriend?"

My face suddenly felt hot and I knew it definitely looked it.

"Well we met a little while after I moved here, in the bookstore." I realized I was trying to make Danny look better than the piece of scum he really was.

"Do you love him?" He asked, looking down at the floor.

"Umm…" I started.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you that. That's none of my business," he said with an apologetic smile. Then his eyes met mine, and I couldn't break away from him. He looked a little sad.

"Bella I-" he started, but was interrupted by a large growl coming from my empty stomach.

"Sorry," I said.

"Let's get you some food," he said unphased.

He sprung up from the pillows and walked over to offer me a hand getting out of the hammock.

He had made me pasta, which was kept warm under the silver cover. He watched me while I ate, offering me some wine.

"I'm taking a break from alcohol for a while," I said remembering my escapades the other night and how I dearly paid for them the next day with the hangover of the century.

"Probably a good plan," he said laughing.

"So…when's the wedding?" I asked.

"Uh, a month or so away. She's really gone big with this one. We've invited most of the hospital staff, since Carlisle is working there again. They were quite surprised when we told them Alice and Jazz were getting hitched. They couldn't believe it because they were so young." He chuckled. "If they only knew," he said gazing up at the stars.

"I brought something else for you, I hope it's okay…" He looked at me tentatively before taking a small remote from his pocket and aiming it towards the back of the greenhouse. The sounds of his lullaby filled the night from little speakers that he had somehow attached around the entire space.

I blinked back the tears. I hadn't heard this in years. He saw the emotion on my face and reached for the remote again.

"I can turn it off if it's upsetting you, I know that…I know that I took it from you before, but I just-," he began.

"Shh, Edward. Don't be ridiculous. I love it," I said looking at him. I knew that this song would bring back terrible memories of when he left me, and I should hate him all over again for playing this, but I couldn't. It was the most beautiful song in the world to me and I couldn't deny that I missed it.

"Dance with me?" He asked, suddenly seeming really vulnerable. He held out his hand.

"I don't know Edward that might not-," I started.

"It's just a friendly offer to dance Bella, I'll be good, Scout's honor," he said holding up three fingers.

I slowly placed my hand in his as he pulled me out of my chair and into his arms. He continued to hold my hand in one of his and placed the other one gently at my waist. Edward was the only one I could ever dance with. This time he didn't put my feet on his, just swayed gently from side to side making the dance simple enough that I could manage.

He slowly slid his hand up my side resting it right on my lower shoulder blade and pulled me in closer.

"Ouch," I winced, unable to hold it in. He had hit my bruise spot on.

He held his hands up instantly and backed away.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked completely mortified. I looked up at him, tears reforming in my eyes.

"No, no you didn't hurt me Edward."

"Then what is it?"

"It's nothing," I lied.

"Bella it isn't nothing, you're hurt. Tell me what happened."

I knew he wasn't going to give up so there was no use fighting him. But I was terrified for him to know. I turned my back to him and gently pulled my shirt up slightly. At first he had no idea what I was doing, but then he saw it. The edge of the long bruise on my back. He gawked in disgusted amazement.

"What happened to you?" He said slowly as he gently poked and prodded the bruise, pulling my shirt up a little more revealing most of the bruise.

I turned back around to face him, on the brink of a breakdown and slowly lifted the sleeves on my shirt. His face turned cold when he saw the marks on my arms, perfectly matching the shape of a handprint.

"Did he do this to you?" He said sharply.

I looked at the floor.

"Did he?" He practically shouted.

I lost it then, crushing into him and crying into his shirt. I heard a deep snarl radiating from his chest. He gently took me in his arms, carrying me back down to my room and set me on the bed. I sat against the headboard with my knees pulled up to my chest. My crying eventually stopped and we just stared at each other, me on my bed and him in the corner chair, where we stayed for the rest of the night.


	4. Look After You

The rain was hitting the window so loudly, I could barely hear my own thoughts. It didn't matter anyway, Edward hadn't said a thing to me all night, he just sat there with an emotionless expression on his face. Sometimes he would put his face in his hands, or rub them through his hair. At some point in the night, he stopped looking at me, like I was too breakable to even look at. I decided I should probably call in sick to work today, Edward probably wouldn't let me go anywhere without him anyway. I'd tell them I was sick or something. That would give me a few days to heal. My bruises were actually much better today and I wasn't quite as tender. I shuffled into the bathroom without a word to brush my teeth and splash some water on my face.

When I returned to the room Edward had his phone to his ear.

"Yeah I'll see you in a little bit," he said quickly before abruptly hanging up.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Oh it was nothing, how are you feeling today?" He said.

"A little bit better," I said as I lifted up my shirt slightly to look at my bruise. It was definitely better but it still hurt. I winced a little as my finger brushed across it.

"Maybe you should take a bath, soak a little bit, it will make you feel better," he said straining a smile. He was in the bathroom in an instant and I could hear the water running. I grabbed some sweats and a book and headed in. The lights were turned down and there were a few candles lit around my bathtub, which was now almost overflowing with bubbles, the kinds you only see in movies. I had to smile a little bit, this was just what I needed.

"Thanks," I said turning to him.

"You're welcome," he said as he slid out and closed the door. "I'll just be right out here."

I hated that he felt like he needed to be here to baby-sit me, but I couldn't help that I was happy he was here. Even if it was just as a friend. _Friend. _He had hurt me so bad in the past, I was still recovering, but the thought of Edward as just a friend was painful.

I slipped out of my clothes and tested the water with my foot. Perfect temperature. _How does it do it?, _I wondered to myself. I spent the next 20 minutes soaking up the warm water and reading my book. I decided it was time to get out when my fingers started to look waterlogged.

I blew out the candles and put my clean sweats on, throwing my dirty clothes in the hamper. I stepped out the room fully expecting to see Edward sitting in the chair, but he wasn't there. That's when I heard some voices coming from the living room. _He called Carlisle! Ugh!_

"No, Edward I'm glad you called, I should check Bella out just to make sure nothing's broken. You did the right thing son," Carlisle said.

I heard Edward let out a large sigh.

"I just can't leave her alone, especially right now. What if he comes back?" Edward said.

"Edward he is going to come back. I can't see exactly what's going to happen or when it's going to happen, something hasn't been decided. But I think it's a good idea for you to camp out here for the next couple of days," a small female voice said.

_Alice. Carlisle brought Alice with him. God I missed her so much._

I cleared my throat as I walked into the room. They all glanced up at me and Carlisle smiled.

"Hello Bella," he said. "Edward called me, I hope that's okay. I would like to examine you, make sure everything's all right. If that's okay with you?" He said carefully.

"Yeah that's fine Carlisle," I managed to say. I knew Edward was looking out for my best interest, but I knew I was fine.

Carlisle confirmed my own diagnosis. I had a couple bruised ribs, a few bruised bones, but nothing broken. He told me take some painkillers and I should be just fine. Edward seemed relieved.

"Umm, Alice can I talk to you…in private?" I asked. I needed to talk to her while I had the chance. Who knows when I would see her again.

She nodded and we headed into my bedroom, closing the door behind us. I looked suspiciously at the door.

"They're not listening," she said.

I turned to face her and saw she was sitting on the edge of my bed. She smiled reassuringly.

I ran to her and threw my arms around her in a bear hug. I felt her smile even wider.

"Well geez, I missed you too," she said.

"You have no idea," I said hugging her tighter.

I eventually released her and took my place sitting next to her. Her eyes turned stern. Not cold, but serious.

"Bella, how did this happen?" She said pointing to my bruises.

"He hit me," I said. It wasn't a proud moment.

"I didn't mean literally Bella, how did this," she motioned around with her hands, "happen?"

"Gosh Alice, I don't know. Danny had never been that violent with me before. He saw Edward visit me at work earlier that day and he completely lost it." I started fidgeting with my hands. This was uncomfortable, but it was nice to talk to Alice. "He's such a scum," I whispered starting to tear up.

"Oh he's lower than scum Bella….he's like…scum shit," she said.

I couldn't help but giggle at her comparison.

"Edward, don't do anything extreme," Carlisle said from the other room. We both turned our heads towards the door.

"He still loves you, you know," She said staring down at her hands.

"Yeah, he's been a really great friend for the last couple days," I said, obviously disappointed at my use of the word "friend."

"Bella, are you blind? He's IN love with you still. He never stopped loving you."

That one hurt.

"Then why'd he leave me Alice, huh? Why'd he tell me he didn't want me anymore, that he didn't want to be with me?" I said, a tear trickling down my cheek.

She raised her hand to wipe it away.

"He knows he screwed up. He thought he was protecting you and he's been absolutely miserable since. That's why I picked that bar," she said, obviously proud of herself.

"You knew I was going to be there?" I said, very impressed with her skills.

"I tried not to think about it around him because I knew he wouldn't go. He didn't want to face you. He was so scared he had messed things up too badly. Then he saw you at the bar. He saw that guy harassing you and something in him snapped and he wanted to protect you." She looked at me, and I knew she was telling the truth. A wave of relief washed over me knowing that he still loved me, but a part of me was upset that he waited so long, that it took Alice to get him to me. Why couldn't he just forget everything that happened and be with me?

"We better get back out there," Alice said standing up. She held out her hand and I took it.

We walked back into the room, hand in hand like best friends.

"It was nice to see you Bella," she said giving me a hug. "He's going to kill me for telling you," she whispered with a laugh into my ear.

When Carlisle and Alice left it had begun to get dark and the rain showed no signs of letting up. I shuffled back into my bedroom and laid on my bed, thinking over what Alice had just said.

"Carlisle said you should take some pain medication," Edward said as he headed into my bathroom. I heard the medicine cabinet open as I patiently awaited my pills. He was taking a long time, for him especially.

"Edward?" I called in.

He walked out very slowly carrying my pain pills in one hand, and something else in his other. _Oh God, he found my birth control pills._

He struggled to put his words together, which was a rarity for him.

"You were sleeping with him?" He asked. It sounded more like a statement than a question. His eyes never left the floor.

I put my head in my hands as I remembered the first time. I really didn't want to, but Danny kept pressuring me. I knew the only person I would ever be in love with didn't want me, so I thought "Why not?" and finally gave in. I regretted it afterwards, but the damage had already been done.

"Edward," I finally started, "It was just sex with him, I've never been in love with anyone but you. It just happened." I said shaking my head. I felt so vulnerable, and so embarrassed. Sex had always been an issue for me and Edward. He said he was too scared he would lose control and hurt me, but I couldn't help but want that with him.

"So what you just slept with the first guy who offered, since you couldn't get that from me?" He said coldly.

That hit me extremely hard. How could he be so heartless, he's the one who destroyed me. I sat there with my mouth open, my anger rising exponentially by the second.

"You tore my life apart Edward! You hurt me so bad that I can't even put into words the pain that radiated through my whole body. You're almost as bad as him, except his work left marks," I yelled, tears starting to stream down my face. I was having a breakdown, plain and simple. I put my hand across my forehead. "I can't even believe that _you're_ mad at _me_ right now! Unbelievable!" I shrieked turning away from him and throwing my hands in the air.

I turned back to him, where he stood frozen by the door.

"Yeah, I slept with him. And yeah I know you didn't think that was a possibility for us, but that's complete bullshit Edward. How I felt about Danny…it doesn't even compare to the unconditional love I felt for you. And don't give me that crap about me being too fragile. My body may have been fragile, but heart was a hundred times worse and you had no problem smashing that all to hell! And I'm still trying to put it back together, because believe it or not, I'm still so in love with you it hurts to stand here with you right now. So don't look at me like I betrayed you, because you broke us Edward." I pointed a finger at him.

"Bella," he started with a strange emotion on his face. I couldn't tell what it was.

"You know what? I think you should leave!" I said trying to push him out the door. I was crying so hard I couldn't even see. "No wait! Take these with you!" I yelled running back to grab my sketchbook. I tore every single page out, throwing them at him. "Take your eyes, and your hands, and your face because I don't want them anymore! I don't want to love you anymore!"

He bent down and picked up one of the crumpled pieces of paper lying at his feet and with a frustrated look in his eye turned and walked out the door. I slammed it behind him and slid down the back of it, pulling my hands to my knees and burying my head in my lap. I sat for a few minutes before getting up and walking back into my room, the floor scattered with paper, a completely destroyed sketchbook thrown on my bed, and both sets of pills sitting on my table.

_I need to get out of here, _I thought to myself. So I opened my window, not bothering to put my coat on, and crawled up the roof. I was still crying hysterically, but you couldn't even tell because my whole body was absolutely soaked from head to toe.

It took me twice as long to make it to the top but as soon as I planted my feet on the floor I ran, hugging myself, towards the greenhouse. The candles were still there, unlit. I took out a match from my stash and lit several of them before plopping down on my pillows, my crying ceasing a little bit.

_What the hell just happened? _I thought as I rung out my dripping hair. _I just told him I was still in love with him, how could I do that?_ This was bad, really bad. I had just opened old wounds that had no business being reopened. I lay back, pulling all my hair above my head and putting my hand over my eyes. I don't know how long I laid there, just listening to the rain, but it felt like forever. I heard a soft tapping on the door and I slowly got up and made my way over. I wasn't sure if I should open the door, not knowing who else knew about this place. _What the hell? It wasn't like my day could get much worse. _

I opened the door slowly to find Edward, absolutely sopping wet. His hair was matted down across his face like he'd been standing out there for a while. I felt my mouth drop open, but I had no time to think because his lips were crushing against mine. His hands made their way to my waist then traced up my sides and to my face. It took me a second to realize that I was kissing him back. My hands wrapped around his neck, and into his hair pulling him closer to me. We stumbled back and he closed the door with his foot, kicking it back as he pressed me gently against the wall.

His lips left my mouth and slowly trailed down my neck, as he carefully pulled my arms above my head. I arched my back and leaned into him. His lips found mine again as he picked me up. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist as he carried me towards the pillows. My hands searched for the hem of his shirt, which I pulled quickly over his head. He laid me down carefully on the wide expanse of pillows before lifting my shirt over my head. I smiled as his lips crushed against mine again, even faster. He pulled his head back and gazed into my eyes.

"I love you, I'll always love you and I'll always want you and I'm so sorry," he said.

"Took you long enough," I said with a laugh before pulling him back down to me.


	5. Gifts and Curses

When I woke up the next morning, I was in my own bed, not in the greenhouse. He must have moved me in the middle of the night after I'd fallen asleep. I turned over in bed to find it completely empty. _God please tell me I wasn't dreaming. _I saw our clothes from yesterday, hung up the mini-clothesline in my room, noticeably still wet. I sat back down, pulling the sheet up to my neck and closing my eyes. I let out a big sigh, snuggling down into the fabric.

Suddenly I felt like I wasn't alone on the bed.

"Are you awake Sleeping Beauty?" Edward whispered into my ear.

I smiled.

"Not quite, I think I might need some waking up," I said sarcastically.

He lifted his hand and touched my cheek softly before tracing down my neck and to the middle of my throat. His finger continued down the middle of my chest, taking the sheet with it. He lightly began kissing my neck and made his way down to my bellybutton, which made me laugh. I was way too ticklish. I struggled playfully to get away, but he gently pulled my arms above my head, pinning my hands there.

"You must be hungry," he said. "Stay here," he said before he planted a quick kiss on my neck.

He released my hands and was gone and back in an instant, but he wasn't empty handed. He carried a tray full of food with him. There were blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a tall glass of orange juice.

"Wow," I said, "You made all this for me? That's so sweet."

I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"You're very welcome," he answered with a smile.

I began munching on my breakfast. Even though the food was amazing, I couldn't keep my eyes off his perfect bare chest. He looked like perfection in not quite human form. He had on long navy pajama like pants that were low enough that you could see his boxers peaking out of the top. I smiled and giggled a bit at the distraction.

"What?" he said inquiringly.

"This is pretty amazing," I said. "Where'd you learn to cook so well?" I winked at him.

"Well I do have a lot of time on my hands at night," he said laughing.

"Not anymore you don't," I said, giving him my best at a seductive look.

He laughed again, and then suddenly his face went blank.

"Stay in here love, I'll be right back," he said as he moved swiftly out of the room.

I was about to call after him, but I heard a swift knock on the door.

"Where is she Cullen, I need to see her!" Danny said, he seemed pretty angry still.

I set the food aside and pulled the covers back up to cover the bottom half of my face. His voice even scared me now. I tried to see through the crack in the door but I could only see Edward.

"I'm sorry, you won't be seeing Bella today, or any day for that matter. And if I hear of you trying to contact her again, I'll make what you did to her look tame. Got it?"

"Fine! Fine, you can have her, I don't want her anymore, she's nothing but TRASH!" Danny screamed inside the apartment.

I saw Edward's fist come back and slam forward. All I heard was a sickening smack and a loud thud out in the hallway. Edward closed the door quietly then shouted "Have a lovely day," in its direction.

I didn't realize I was shaking in fear until he returned to bed.

"It's okay love, I won't let him near you," he said sweetly as he pulled the sheet down from my face.

I smiled and nodded slowly.

"So," he began, "What would you like to do today?"

"Ummm…maybe we could just stay in," I said starting back on my breakfast.

"Sounds good to me," he said kissing me and pushing me back down on the bed.

"Edward," I said in between kisses, "As much as I would love to do…that…I meant maybe we could talk a little." I looked up tentatively.

"Of course," he said with a smile. "What do you want to talk about?"

"We need to talk about when you left, Edward," I said as I grimaced a little. "I think it's important."

"Okay," he said, his grimace matching mine.

I looked at him expectantly, willing him to start.

"Bella, it was just everything. I felt like all I was doing was hurting you, with what happened with James and with Jasper at your birthday. I felt like I was being selfish putting you in all that danger just to satisfy my longing for love. So I left, we left. I said the only thing that would make you hate me. I wanted you to hate me. You can't imagine how hard that was for me," he looked down at his hands. I waited for him to continue.

"We went back up to Alaska, where we lived before. We have some "family" up there, a coven that lives the same lifestyle we do. I was miserable." He looked up at me and laughed without humor. "Miserable doesn't even begin to describe it."

"After a couple of years, Carlisle made a visit back down to the hospital to do some consulting. He ran into your dad actually. He said you were at college, and that you hadn't visited often, so he thought it would be okay for us to move back. Esme was unhappy in Alaska, I was unhappy in Alaska, Carlisle missed his patients. So we moved back. Things went back to normal for everyone but me. So life just…dragged on. Until I saw you in that bar, then it was like my whole life fell back into place. I didn't think I could face you, I felt…like too much had happened between us. But when that guy approached you, I couldn't help but read his mind and well…let's just say he wasn't going to be let down easy." A light snarl ripped through his teeth. "So I stepped in to help. And I'm so glad that I did," he said smiling at me.

"I'm glad you did too," I said taking the last bite of my pancakes.

He took the empty tray and headed into the kitchen.

"I think I'm gonna take a shower!" I called to him as I walked into the bathroom. The shower was heavenly, almost as heavenly as last night had been. It was never like that Danny. Not as much passion, or tenderness….or love. I smiled widely. _He loved me. He really loved me as much as I loved him. _I took my time going over the night's events in my head before stepping out of the shower. Edward walked in as I wrapped the towel around myself.

"Hey you," I called to him.

"Hey, um your phone rang while you were in the shower…and I kinda answered it. I hope that was okay. It was Jacob, he sounded really frantic."

"Oh…Oh!" I said as I scrambled to find my phone. Not in my purse, not on the table, not on the floor. I was just about to look under the bed when Edward's hand stuck out in front of me, finger already on send.

I took the phone and smiled.

"Jacob?" I said. "She is?... Right now?... Okay I'm coming home, leaving right now… No, we'll talk about that later…. Yes it was him… Okay I'll see you soon." I hung up the phone.

"You're going back to Forks?" Edward asked.

"Uh, yeah Jacob's in labor…I mean his wife's in labor. I have to get to the hospital."

"Okay I'll drive you," he said smiling.

I threw some things in a bag before we rushed out the door. We were back in Forks in record time. I called my Dad on the way but he was already at the hospital. Billy had called him. We pulled in and Edward swung right up to the front door.

"You go ahead, I'll park then go talk to Carlisle for a while. I'll come find you."

"Okay," I said leaning over to kiss him.

I ran into the hospital asking every nurse I passed where labor and delivery was. I made it to the waiting room eventually, finding it full. Sam, Embry, Quil, Jared, Paul, Seth and Leah, were all sitting along one wall. My dad, Billy, and Sue flanked them on another. Charlie got up when he saw me and rushed over to give me a hug.

"They're in the delivery room right now, should be any minute," he said giving me a squeeze.

I took my place next to my Dad and waited very impatiently. I can't believe Jacob was going to be a Daddy. It was amazing. I looked lovingly at my own Dad, before I remembered something. It wasn't really the place, but I guess we weren't going anywhere soon.

"Dad, I need to talk to you," I said. "Why didn't you tell me you ran into Carlisle?"

He looked guilty. He knew he'd been caught.

"Oh did you run into him on your way here?" He asked, trying to brush off his failure to mention it.

"No," I stared straight into his eyes. "I heard it from Edward."

I heard him choke a little on the cup of coffee he was drinking.

"So you knew they were back and you didn't tell me, how could you do that?" I whispered.

"I'm sorry Bells, I was just…I was just trying to protect you."

"Thanks for the concern Dad, but it would have been nice to know before I ran into them in Seattle."

"What? You saw him, you saw Edward?!"

I saw a lot more of him than I cared to let my Dad know about right now.

"Dad, we're kinda…"

"You're not back together with him?! Bella, after what he did to you I can't believe you're even talking to him."

"It's different Dad, and…I guess I really don't know what we are yet, but we're trying to be something…maybe."

Charlie stared ahead trying to slow his breathing.

"Okay Bells, as long as you know what you're doing. I just want you to be happy."

I smiled and lightly slapped his knee. "Thanks Dad."

Edward came around the corner just then and I gave my Dad the "be nice" look.

My Dad said a cool "Hello" to Edward as he came and sat next to me, grabbing my hand and holding it in his. Charlie eyed our intertwined hands and let out an annoyed sigh.

Jacob burst through the door of the waiting room just then with an unimaginably huge smile on his face.

"It's a girl!" He said enthusiastically to a roar of cheers and laughter.

"Bells!" He said scooping me up in a big bear hug. "Do you want to see your God daughter?"

"Of course. Do you mind if Edward comes?" I said gesturing back to Edward, sitting in the chair. I was afraid to leave him alone with Charlie.

Jacob must be in a state of euphoria because he instantly agreed.

I motioned to Edward to follow as Jacob led us back through the doors.

There she was, sleeping soundly in Mary Ann's arms, cute as a button.

"Congrats," I said to Mary Ann as I placed a light kiss on her cheek.

She smiled and looked lovingly at her new daughter.

"You want to hold her?" She asked.

"Can I?" I asked excitedly.

She held the baby up to me and I took it in my arms like it was completely natural to me. I had never been around a lot of babies but I always seemed to know what I was doing. I smiled back at Edward.

"Isn't she just precious?" I asked him.

"Yeah she's great, congratulations Jake, I'm really happy for you," he said patting Jacob on the back.

Everyone was in a good mood and it was contagious. I had been through a lot in the past few days but standing here with some of the most important people in my life, with this little baby in my arms, the world felt simpler. I think Edward could see the glow in my eyes, because he placed his hand on the small of my back and stared smiling at my face.

"What's her name?" I asked looking at Jacob.

"Madeline Isabella Black," he said.

My eyes started to tear up.

"Thanks Jake."

We didn't stay at the hospital long. I gave Jacob and Mary Ann one final hug before leaving the room. Edward put his hand around my waist as we walked through the halls of the hospital, making our way back to the parking lot.

He stopped when we got to the car and turned me to face him.

"I love you so much," he said tenderly.

"Love you more," I stood up on my tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips.

We started back to his house, and decided to stay there for the night. The house was empty when we got back, Edward said the rest of them had gone hunting.

"So we get the house all to ourselves?" I said raising an eyebrow.

"Yes…" He said slowly.

I smiled and took his hand, pulling him gently toward his room intent on taking advantage of our alone time to put the couch to good use.


	6. Feels Like Home

I woke up the next morning on Edward's couch alone. I snuggled deeper into Edward's shirt that I had managed to put on at some point during the night. I breathed in deeply, it smelled just like him and I smiled. I hadn't opened my eyes yet, I just lay there basking in Edward. I heard someone clear their throat. My eyes shot open.

"Bella!" Emmett said with a huge grin on his face. "Fancy seeing you here," he said sarcastically.

"Emmett! What the hell are you doing in here?" I said pulling the covers up closer to my body. _This is such an Emmett move._

He ignored my question and carried on. "So…are you and Edward…ya know?"

"Emmett!" I yelled, my face turning red.

"What the hell Emmett?!" I heard Edward yell through the open door. "Get the hell out!"

"Hey man, the door was open! I was just…saying hello to Bella here," he said nodding towards me still grinning from ear to ear.

"Out!" Edward said pointing to the door.

Emmett left the room snickering and Edward closed the door swiftly behind him.

"Sorry about that," he said as he sat down beside me. "They're all kind of…excited that you're here."

"Where'd you run off to?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around his waist and snuggled closer to his side.

"Don't go in there!" I heard Emmett yell from the hallway. "They need 'alone time'," he laughed. I could just see him doing the little air quotes around "alone time." Perv.

There was a knock at the door.

"Go away," Edward said a little annoyed.

Alice stepped through the door without a thought, obviously ignoring Edward's request.

"Hey Bella!" She said skipping over to the chair. "So…" she started. "Are you going to stay?"

I was confused. "Stay where?" I questioned, looking from her to Edward.

"Alice, I haven't…talked to her about that yet, would you relax," Edward snapped.

Alice sat patiently, smiling at him to get on with it.

"Well," Edward started. "I've been thinking…and I was wondering what you thought about maybe moving back here, to Forks. Your Dad lives with Sue now, and his house has been empty since we got back here. I'm sure you can live there. You said it yourself that your job wasn't really getting you anywhere, and plus I can…keep a better eye on you from here," he added. I didn't need to ask to know he was talking about Danny.

I thought about it for a second. He was right, of course. There was nothing left for me in Seattle. And plus Edward was back, and his absence was the main reason I couldn't come back to Forks.

"I think I'd be okay with that," I answered slowly with a smile.

"Great, we can redecorate your house! We can paint, carpet…oooo get some new lights and furniture…"Alice started with an excited gleam in her eye.

"Alice could you give us a minute?" Edward asked, staring at her.

"Oh…right!" Alice said as she flitted out of the room.

Once Edward and I were alone he turned towards me.

"Are you sure love, I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do…" he whispered.

"No Edward I'm sure. It makes perfect sense. And you're here now…" I said as I planted a kiss on his neck.

"Okay good because we already moved all your stuff back into the house." He said quickly, then pulled back expecting an outburst.

"You what?!" I said as my eyes widened.

"Well, I figured it'd just be easier. Then you wouldn't have to go back. So we all went last night and loaded everything up."

"Wow…well…thanks," I said looking back at him.

I guess I didn't mind, less work for me.

"Well," I said as I got up and stretched. "I guess I have some unpacking to do, can you drop me off at my house?"

"Yeah no problem," he answered as he leaned down to kiss me. It was short and sweet and I clung to him to try and make it last longer.

"Not now love," he said as he looked towards the door.

Two seconds later Emmett burst in, looking like he was expecting to catch us in a compromising position. He looked sorely disappointed when we were both just standing there, looking at him like he was a complete idiot. He stalked back out of the room.

"What's his deal with the whole…ya know?" I asked.

"Eh. Well I was a 100 year old virgin until recently Bella." He said with a laugh.

"Oh my God do they all know, that I…deflowered you?" I asked with a mockingly shocked look on my face.

"Oh of course, such the seductress." He said with a wink.

I changed back into my clothes before heading downstairs. We said "hello" and "goodbye" to the rest of the family before stepping out the door.

I called my Dad on the way to the house, making sure it was okay that I was moving back in there. He was ecstatic. The house had lain vacant since he moved out, so he said it might need some work. Mostly, he was just excited that I would be close again.

Edward pulled into the driveway and I could see what my Dad was talking about. The grass was overgrown, badly. The porch swing that we installed right before I left for college had broken on one side, probably the victim of a particularly nasty storm. In general, it looked pretty rough.

"Wow, this might take a lot of work," I said as I got out of the car and slammed the door.

"It's not that bad, we can all help," Edward answered with a smile.

I walked up the pathway, kicking weeds out of the way, and made my way up the stairs. Edward picked the porch swing up with one arm and reattached the chain to the ceiling hook.

I opened the door and there in the living room was all my stuff. My clothes, my books, my desk, bed, tables, lamps.

"We weren't sure where you wanted everything so we just left it here until you decided," Edward said closing the door behind him.

"No, no that's fine."

"So Emmett, Jasper, and I can take care of the stuff outside, if you, Alice and Esme wanted to tackle the inside."

I groaned at the thought of Alice, the interior decorator.

"We need to get this done as fast as possible," I said as I began imagining the endless parade of fabrics, carpets, and paint colors I would be presented with in the upcoming days.

"Actually you know what," I said. "Let Alice do it all, I don't want to make any decisions. I'll just unpack my stuff and she can decorate to her little heart's desire," I said looking around.

"Okay I'm going to head into town and get some tools and supplies at Newton's," Edward began. "I'll call the rest of them and tell them to meet back here in a little bit." He started out the door.

"See you in a bit," I called after him, picking up a box that looked like clothes and headed up the stairs.

I decided to take over Charlie's old bedroom. It was a lot bigger than my old one. I put my IPod in and started hanging up my clothes in the closet, totally oblivious to the outside world.

I don't know how long it had been, maybe an hour, when I finished with that box and sat on the edge of the bed. It was a little odd being back in the house, with it being my house now. I saw daydreaming about my childhood visits here, and when I moved here. I didn't notice someone creeping up behind me until they laid a cold hand on my shoulder. I turned, fully ready to let out a scream.

"Alice!" I panted, out of breath. "You scared the crap out of me."

"So what's this I hear about you giving me full decorating authority," she said smiling.

"It's all yours, I don't want you to ask me about anything, just go." I was hoping I wouldn't regret that later. I thought Alice knew me well enough to know my likes and dislikes and I was hoping she would stick to those and not Alice's likes and dislikes.

Alice jumped up and squealed with delight before running back downstairs.

The rest of the Cullens showed up eventually. Edward returned with a car full of supplies to work on the yard, including a new lawnmower.

"You really didn't have to buy me a brand new one," I said. I hated when he bought me expensive things.

"Are you kidding?" Emmett said. "Have you seen this lawn?" He gestured to the yard that looked more like a forest.

I laughed a little. "Okay maybe it was necessary."

He smiled as he started it up and began mowing, at an inhumanly fast speed.

Jasper was on the ladder, fixing a broken eve. I smiled up at him. We hadn't talked much since _the incident_. I wanted to tell him I wasn't angry with him, but I could tell he was still trying to keep his distance.

We spent the rest of the day unpacking, while the boys worked outside. Alice, Esme, and I chatted like we were old friends, like nothing had happened and no time had passed. I told them about college and life in Seattle. Rose sat on the bed not saying a word. She looked thoroughly annoyed that she had to be here. I wish she would just leave, she dampened my spirits whenever I looked at her. She did eventually, as did Emmett and Jasper. The day's work was starting to catch up with me and I felt incredibly exhausted. I lay back on the bed, listening and laughing with Alice and Esme. I didn't even realize I'd fallen asleep.

I woke up the next morning, back at Edward's. I had no recollection of how I got there, or when I got there. I still felt exhausted, but I could tell it was light out. A note was set on a small table in the room along with a single white rose. I scurried over to it, bringing my blankets with me.

_Good Morning love,_

_We're back working at your house. Come and join us when you wake up. The keys to the Volvo are in the ignition._

_Edward_

I got dressed quickly and headed out to the garage to find the keys exactly where Edward said they would be. I drove swiftly towards the street of my house. I liked hearing that. My house. I smiled at the thought. Pulling around the corner, I noticed the lot of cars parked in the driveway. That's more cars than the Cullens own, that I knew about anyway. I noticed the extra cars were the police cruiser and a red Volkswagen. My Dad and Jacob were here.

I parked the Volvo on the road and walked up to the house. It already looked a million times better, I couldn't imagine what it would look like once it was finished. I heard laughter coming from inside as I put my hand on the doorknob and pushed it open. I couldn't believe what I saw. It was done, all of it. I walked in to the living room, painted a beautiful light gray. The furniture was fun and modern, but still definitely something I would like. The white couch was set against the wall opposite of the fireplace with a big plasma television on the opposite wall. Two deep red chairs sat in the corner, flanking a dark wooden bookshelf absolutely overflowing with books.

I walked towards the sounds of laughter in the kitchen, my mouth still draped open. They all noted my entrance and yelled "Surprise!"

"I can't believe…you guys are done already." I said with shock.

Alice came towards me and gave me a hug. "We did have all night you know," she whispered into my ear.

Jacob was the next to approach me, carrying Madeline in his arms.

"Jake, I'm so glad you came! How's my God daughter?" I said holding out my arms.

He handed her over willingly. "Oh she's just great…great when she wakes me up at 1 am…then 3 am…and 6 am…she's just great."

I laughed. "Aww, you're exhausted, typical new dad. Why don't you let me take care of her for a little while and you can sneak upstairs and take a nap?" I winked at him.

He looked longingly at the stairs and I knew he couldn't resist. He smiled and sprinted towards the stairs.

The next few hours passed quickly, because we were all having so much fun. They gave me a tour of the rest of the downstairs, I told them to save the upstairs for later and let Jake sleep. Everyone left, eventually except for Edward. I thanked them for all their work as they walked out the door.

Edward kept looking at me, holding Maddie, and smiled a kind if sad smile.

"Bella, is that something you'd want someday…you know, a baby?"

The question caught me off guard.

"Oh, well I guess I've never really thought about it."

"Well you know that's something I can't give you," Edward said looking at the floor.

"Oh," I said as I looked down at Maddie, "Well that's okay. I mean, I'll always have this one to take care of. And if I really want one we'll just adopt, or be foster parents or something." Now that I thought about it, it wasn't that important to me. I mean I would probably miss it at some point, but I'm very happy with what I have right now.

"We should go wake Jake up, Mary Ann's probably wondering where he is," I said as I started to get up, shifting Maddie on my hip. My muscles were aching, having held her for the past few hours.

"Edward can you hold her for a minute?" I said without a thought, holding her out to him.

He held out his arms stiffly with a horrified look on his face.

"Just relax," I said smiling as I placed her in his arms. He left his arms straight out in front of him, like he would break her if he brought her any closer.

"Edward," I laughed, "It's okay you can bring her closer."

He began moving his arms in closer to his body.

"Sorry, I've just…never really been around babies."

It was so cute, I should have taken a picture of the sight. Edward was cradling Maddie to his chest, looking down into her big beautiful eyes that were drooping down sleepily.

"Wow, she wouldn't sleep with me all day, but once you get her she falls right asleep," I said quietly.

Edward let out a nervous chuckle.

We heard footsteps on the staircase and soon Jacob bounded through the doorway.

"Hey Jake we were just coming to wake you up," I said, patting him on the back.

"Oh man, I was definitely asleep before my head reached the pil…" He gaped when he said Edward with Maddie.

"How do you DO that?" He said, amazed.

"Do what?" Edward said nervously. "Am I doing something wrong?" He asked, a panic look spread across his face.

"No, no man. She's…sleeping." Jake said, still staring in awe.

"She fell asleep as soon as Edward had her," I said nodding in Edward's direction.

"Wow, can you guys like baby-sit sometimes…like maybe all night," Jake joked.

I however knew how much it wasn't a joke. Edward totally could sit like that, all night long.

"Anytime," Edward said with a laugh, he was starting to feel more comfortable.

"Well we better get going, it's pretty late," Jake said as he held out his arms for Maddie.

Edward gently handed her over, before wrapping his arm around my waist.

As soon as Jake was gone, I went upstairs and started getting ready for bed.

"Are you going to stay tonight?" I asked when I heard Edward behind me.

"Would you like me to?" he said as he wrapped both arms around me. I reached my hands up to grasp his neck.

I put on my best scared face and turned to him.

"Yeah, I'm scared of…monsters." I said in my best childish voice.

"Oh well then, I better. Should I check in the closet and under the bed?"

"Yes please," I said as I crawled into bed.

He walked dutifully to the closet, opened it, and peered inside.

"Nothing here," he said making his way over to the bed and bending down to check under it.

"Nope, nothing here either," he said with a serious look on his face.

"Good," I said as I pulled him down to me.

He wrapped the blankets tightly around me before pulling me to him draping his arm around my waist. I turned to face him.

"You know I was thinking…what if you moved in here…with me?" I said tentatively.

His eyes got wide for a second, before returning to normal.

"I guess I never thought about that," he started. "I mean I'll practically be here all the time now."

"And now you won't have to sneak through the window, you can walk right through the front door," I added playfully.

"That's true," he said bringing his hand up to his chin.

"I think that'd be an excellent idea," he said after a short pause.

"Good. I think we should probably check for monsters in one more place though," I said.

"Where's that?"

I pointed my fingers under the covers.

"Oh my! How could I forget!" He said sarcastically before diving below the covers.

I giggled as he tickled me starting at my feet and working all the way up to my ribs. He poked his head out of the covers.

"You look like a turtle," I said laughing.

"Would you like a tour of my shell?" He said seriously.

I couldn't hold in the laughter.

"Well I'd love to," I said as he pulled me under, still laughing hysterically.


	7. Whiskey Barrel of Humiliation

The next month passed by without any incidents. I was getting settled back into my new house, Edward was moving his stuff in. I thought it would be different with him "technically" living there, but it wasn't. He was there all the time anyway.

I tried looking for a job in town, but unfortunately couldn't find anything so Jacob offered to let me baby-sit Maddie a couple days a week for cash. I loved having her there, she was such a treat. Edward was still warming up to having a baby around a lot of the time, but she still wouldn't sleep unless he was holding her. I couldn't blame her; I knew how comfortable his marble arms could be.

We had the rest of the Cullens and my Dad and Sue over a lot. It was still a little weird to me that they were living together, I had always thought of Charlie as a life-long bachelor, but I was glad he was happy. He wasn't the happiest about my living situation with Edward, but I think he felt the same way. He could see how happy I was with Edward, so he slowly began warming up to him too.

Alice and Jasper's wedding was coming up soon and I was busy helping her get ready. She insisted that I be in her bridal party, which I wasn't looking forward to. The best part was that Edward would be escorting me down the aisle as a groomsmen, so he could catch me if my clumsy side decided to show up that day.

The Monday before the wedding Alice, Rose and I went to Port Angeles to make sure our dresses fit and to pick them up. I had to compliment Alice on her choice of bridesmaid dress, it wasn't that terrible. Her colors were coral and a deep cornflower blue, which was the color of the dress. Rosalie of course looked beautiful in hers, fitting her form perfectly. Unfortunately I didn't have the requirements to fill out the top part quite as well.

"Bella, I know what you're thinking," Alice said, glancing at me appraising myself.

I shot her a look.

"Well no not like that, I'm no Edward, but you look beautiful so stop being so picky," she corrected quickly.

"You wanted me to stand up with you Alice, so I hold you responsible for making me look presentable," I said brushing my hands over my dress.

"Well of course," she said smugly. "Okay my turn," she said with a squeal.

I hadn't seen Alice's dress until now, but there were no words to describe how beautiful she looked. It was off-white with crystals and pearls dangling across her arms in an off the shoulder top. The sweetheart neckline perfectly complemented her, and the form fitting dress was skintight until it got to her knees where it flared fiercely. It was totally Alice. I smiled at her.

"Well this is my first wedding in decades, I wanted to make it good," she whispered.

The sales woman came over, offering Alice a veil, but she shook her head and opted for a diamond and pearl encrusted tiara. She was a vision, I only wished I could look that half that beautiful on my wedding day.

We drove back to Forks, chatting on about wedding details and random things. Edward was waiting for me when we got back, sitting patiently on the porch swing.

"See you later Alice! Bye Rose," I said as I got out of the car and slammed the door.

"Hey," Edward called to me, beginning to swing lightly. I strode up the steps and sat down next to him.

"Hi," I said turning my head towards him. He bent down and gave me a kiss.

"So…how was shopping?" he asked sarcastically.

"Oh it was the most thrilling day of my life, I got to look at two beautiful women that I get to stand next to in front of a lot of people." I said, my self-esteem dipping just thinking about it.

"Don't be silly, you know you'll be the most breathtakingly beautiful person there. I probably won't be able to keep my eyes off you," he said kissing my cheek.

"Yeah, you're required to because you're my boyfriend," I said with a shrug.

"Well if anyone else dared to look at you the way I did, I'd have to take care of them," he said flashing his teeth.

The next thing I knew it was the night before the wedding and Alice was kidnapping us for a joint bachelor/bachelorette party at the Cullens. I put on a slinky black dress that was forced on me by Alice, I swear I was left with no choice. She did allow me to wear black ballet flats, after some argument. I refused to wear that dress with heels, it was a flashing disaster waiting to happen. I did my hair straight, with the new straightener Alice had bought me. She was intent on turning me into a girly girl, but it wasn't going to happen. She's lucky I even attempted the straightener. I was applying some last minute lip-gloss when I saw Edward walk into the doorframe.

"Wow," he said wrapping his arms around my waist and planting a kiss just above my collarbone. "Maybe we should just stay in tonight," he said with a wink.

"Oh no! I didn't get dressed up like this for nothing," I said totally serious. He cracked a grin, like he was trying to hold in laughter. "And plus Alice would kill us…or me I guess, and she'd be really mad at you."

That did it. He released my waist and doubled over in laughter.

"What?" I said turning to him.

"I'm sorry, I just can't take you yelling at me seriously while you're trying to put that stuff on your lips. You look like an angry platypus or something." He said, still laughing.

I growled towards him. "I can't…do it!" I said furiously as I threw the lip-gloss down onto the counter and crossed my arms on my chest.

"It's okay love, I'd just be taking it off later," he said as he smiled his crooked smile.

The thought of that brightened my spirits a little and I turned.

"Alright let's get this over with."

Edward drove us to the Cullens house, which was all lit up and bombarded with flowers. If it looked like this now, I couldn't imagine what it would look like tomorrow for the big show.

Edward helped me out of the car and held my hand as we walked up the stairs.

"Ready?" He whispered in my ear.

"Huh," I huffed before putting on a fake smile and turning to face him. "Let's go!"

He opened the door in front of me and followed me in. Music was coming from the living room, which had been completely cleared out to make a dance floor. There was a line of liquor bottles on a table along the far wall. I eyed them suspiciously.

"So can you guys…like…get drunk?" I asked Edward.

He laughed.

"Well technically yes, but it takes a lot more than it would for a human because the venom burns off the alcohol."

"Hmm…learn something new everyday."

Emmett ran up to us, obviously exhibit A in the drunken vampire case.

"You guys!" He said scooping us both into one big hug. "I love you guys!"

He quickly turned and went up to the next people, "You guys!"

Edward and I looked at each other and burst out in laughter. He looked towards the liquor.

"Are you ready to dive back in yet?" He asked.

"Oh sure, why not? There are some pretty cute guys here, maybe I can pick one up," I said.

He gave me a squeeze and dragged me over to the table.

"What's your poison?" he asked, fingering through the bottles.

"Anything but tequila," I said wincing at the memory. "Give me your favorite."

He grabbed the bottle of whiskey sitting at the end.

"Whiskey….really?" I asked surprised.

He smile and poured both of us a shot. I clinked my shot glass with his before pouring it down my throat. When I opened my eyes again, the previously full bottle was only ¾ full.

"Did you just…?" I stared up at him amazed.

"Well I do want to keep up with you," he said with a smile.

"This should be an interesting night," I said holding out my shot glass again.

Four shots later, for me anyway, the whole bottle was gone and I was pretty close to being gone too.

I heard a faint clinking on a glass, and took that as our cue to make our way to our table. I almost fell a few times, but Edward caught me. Clumsy people should not be allowed to drink. I had never seen Edward like this. He wasn't drunk, but you could definitely tell he was different.

Carlisle and Esme stood up to give their speeches, while Edward and I were in our own little world at the other end of the table.

"Bella?" I heard Carlisle call. Edward kicked my leg under the table.

"Bella, as Alice's other bridesmaid did you want to…say anything?" Carlisle said gesturing to the rest of the table.

If I wasn't in the state I was in, I would have flat out said no, but I took my glass in my hand and began speaking from my seat.

"Umm…I guess I just want to say that I'm so…" I felt a cool hand on my knee. I glanced toward Edward, he nodded for me to continue with a grin on his face.

"Umm..yeah I'm so happy for you guys, I…" The hand rose slightly off my knee and onto my thigh, right at the bottom hem of my dress. I cleared my throat.

"I love you guys a lot and I really appreciate…everything…you've done…for…me…" The hand slowly rose a couple inches higher, just slipping under the skirt on my dress. Everyone was staring at me like I was some crazy person. Edward was holding in a snicker, as was Emmett who was seated on the other side of Edward and could clearly see the reason why I was having trouble putting my words together.

"Excuse me for a minute," I said getting up quickly and darting for the hallway. I heard Edward say that he should probably check up on me. Emmett snickered again.

I was holding the railing of the stairs for balance when I heard him behind me.

"What…the hell was that?" I spun around. Not a good idea, I was already dizzy.

He said nothing, just took my hand a led me halfway up the staircase, out of the view of the party.

I started to say something else to him but he pressed me against the wall and put his hands on either side of my head, trapping me.

"That, that wasn't a…very good idea Edward," I said as he leaned in closer. I began to lose my train of thought again. He brought his lips within centimeters of my skin, just below my ear and traced lightly down to my collarbone. I shuddered.

"Edward, don't be ridiculous," I said.

One of his hands drifted to my neck, brushing up and down it with his thumb. His eyes smoldered as he looked me up and down. This was not the usual Edward, even when he got a little carried away. It was rough and gritty and sexy as hell and I had no more fight left in me. I pulled him into a kiss that definitely wouldn't be described as innocent. His hands felt down my back for my zipper and the next thing I knew I was stepping out of my dress that was now laying on the floor. He wrapped his arms around my waist while I fumbled with the buttons on his shirt.

I heard the room full of people laugh and I turned my head away.

"Oh God, what if someone comes up here?" I asked in a panic.

"I'll know if they do," he said still kissing down my neck.

"Well I really don't think you're in the best frame of mind right now, Edward," I said straining my neck to close the impossible distance to peak around the corner.

"Okay I can fix this problem," he said as he scooped me up and carried me into his room.

"We are really breaking this couch in," I said smiling against his kiss.

"What about breaking in the floor, or the wall?" He said laughing.

"I'd be okay with that," I smirked.

Suddenly he whipped us off the couch and pushed me against the wall holding all his music. His hand gripped the shelving tightly as I undid the rest of his buttons and slid his shirt off. _God I hope I remember this tomorrow._

Well my wish partially came true. I remember bits and pieces of the night. I remembered coming here, and…drinking with Edward, and that embarrassing display at the table, but other than that nothing. I couldn't explain how the shelf got broken, or why Edward's records were spilled all over the floor the next morning. And I definitely had no idea where my dress was, which was odd. It had to be in the room somewhere. Edward was sitting in his chair, fingers pressed to his skull.

"You don't get hangovers do you?" I asked rubbing my own temples.

"Oh no, we don't. I just don't want to go out there," he nodded to the door.

It was still fairly early, but I could hear people moving around outside.

"Edward…where…is my dress?" I asked picking up various items to look underneath them.

"That's why I don't want to go out there," he said solemnly.

"Oh no," I said, my hand flying up to my mouth.

It was coming back to me now. The staircase, undone zipper, dress…on the floor. Alice burst through the door suddenly, carrying the dress in question.

"You left this on the stairs," she said throwing the dress at me. "Honestly Bella, you couldn't wait until you got up here?" She asked, throwing a glance my way.

I heard Emmett laugh out in the hallway.

"Shut up Emmett!" Edward and I said simultaneously.

"Sorry Alice," I said wincing.

"No worries," she said getting up, obviously she didn't care that I had basically stripped down mere feet from her party. "But get your cute butt up and get to work. Oh and you might want to get back to your house and take a shower or something, you look a little rough."

If I looked at all like I felt, she was probably right.

"Is there anyway I can get out of here without going out there?" I said pointing towards the door.

Edward shrugged and pointed towards the window.

All I needed was one look down, down, down before I decided I'd rather face them. I slipped my dress back on and opened the door quietly before slipping out. I ran tiptoeing down the hallway and down the stairs. I was fairly sure I had made it to the front door unnoticed, until I heard Emmett yell "Walk of SHAME!" at me as I grabbed he doorknob.

I twisted it and left the house, getting into the Volvo to head back home. I swear I could hear Emmett's laughter all the way down the driveway. Stupid shiny Volvo owner's brother.


	8. Two Weddings and a Funeral?

I drove home quickly and jumped into the shower, allowing the warm water to wash over me for twice as long as I usually would. I was surprised I didn't feel as crappy as I should after how much I drank last night. After I shaved my legs and washed my hair I reached out of the shower and fumbled for the towel, which was nowhere to be found. A pair of hands shot in front of me, holding one out.

"Thanks," I said as I stepped out, wrapping myself tightly in the soft fabric.

"No problem," Edward said with a smile. "Hey sorry about Emmett, he just doesn't know when to quit sometimes."

"It's okay," I said as I grabbed another towel from the cupboard. I started raking it through my hair, ringing out all the excess moisture.

"Well I can't stay, Alice has 'chores' for me to do," he said rolling his eyes.

"Alright then, I'll get ready and make my way over as soon as I can," I noted smiling up at him.

He smiled back and bent down to kiss me before turning and walking back out the door.

I slipped into my big purple bathrobe before turning back to glance at the mountain of beauty products I had been instructed to use for today. They looked more like torture devices to me.

I decided to start by blow-drying my hair, using this incredibly large brush with soft bristles on it. Alice had shown me how to use it, but I wasn't sure if I could do it as well as she could. She and I had argued on whether my hair would be up or down. She insisted on an intricate up do, I wanted a simple sleek look. I decided to pin half of it up, a sort of compromise. After it was dried, I slowly rolled the hot rollers into the layers, burning myself several times. _Why do girls do this? It's absolutely ridiculous._ I had never used hot rollers in my life, I usually just got out of the shower and let it air dry. I never thought it had looked bad.

After about twenty minutes, the rollers were all set. I looked ridiculous with pins popping out all over my head, holding the rollers in place. I had to laugh a little at myself. While the rollers cooled, I was instructed that I had to wait at least a half hour by Alice and I was not allowed to take them out early, I started on the makeup. The blush was easy enough, basically because I knew I wouldn't need a lot with my natural ability to make my cheeks flush pink. I opened the eye shadow box, only to find about ten different colors in there ranging from mossy green to bronze, to peach, to a dark gray. She had never told me which one I was supposed to wear. I picked up the dark gray and held it up close to my face, inspecting it. This one scared me; they'd really be able to tell if I messed up. I shook my head and threw that one back in the box. The light peach one looked safe enough. I applied it the best I could, and it actually didn't look too bad. I started to feel brave as I picked up the darker shade of peach, almost a coral one. I started to put this one in the crease of my eyelids, just as Alice as showed me during our beauty tutorial. _Not bad at all,_ I thought as I appraised myself in the mirror. The eyeliner was another story. I had to redo the top enough times that I decided I wasn't even going to attempt the bottom. I held my hand very steady as I moved towards my eye with the mascara wand. I did my right eye and then moved the wand back a few inches in front of my face to see my work. It actually looked…good. I let out a squeal of excitement, I was so proud of myself for my accomplishment. However when I had my momentary celebration, my hand also flew up, holding the mascara wand, right across my forehead. I frowned as I watched in slow motion as the end of the wand scraped across my forehead, making a dark line in its path.

"Damn it! And I was doing so good," I said as I loaded a cotton ball with makeup remover. I scrubbed at my forehead until the hideous black line disappeared. I was extra careful in attempting the other eye. I backed away from the mirror and gave my face a once over. It was really good for me. I usually just put on a little eye shadow and went out the door. My complexion was absolutely glowing, and I knew it wasn't just the makeup. I was truly happy here and I could see it in my face.

I looked up at the clock. It had been forty minutes since I had put the rollers in. I lifted my hand and felt one, it was completely cool. Holding my breath, I sprayed one more layer of hairspray. Once the fumes disappeared I took on of the pins out and undid the roller. A perfectly spiraled soft curl was left in its place. I smiled. _Maybe I'm not as bad at this as I thought._ The rest of my head came out just as good. I grabbed some hair from the side and pulled it loosely back, pinning it with a bobby pin. I repeated the same thing with the other side.

I glanced back up at the clock. _Crap I'm going to be late, I'm supposed to be there in ten minutes to help set up. _Alice should understand, this whole hair and makeup thing was not my forte. I scurried out to my bedroom and took my dress out of its garment bag. I stepped into it and slowly pulled the side zipper up, careful not to get it caught in any of the fabric. I fumbled with my necklace before giving one last spray of hairspray. With a quick spritz of perfume I was out the door and driving back to the Cullen's.

When I pulled in, I could see vans. Everywhere. Florist vans, catering vans, photography vans. Vans, vans, vans. I parked in the garage and attempted to run up to the house in my heels. I was a little disgusted by the looks I got from the dirty old men setting up the chairs in the backyard. As terrible as it sounds, I hoped that it meant that I had done a good job making myself presentable. I opened the door to a flurry of people, none of which I recognized. I searched the room frantically for someone, when I saw Esme across the house, through a doorway. I started to make my way toward her, but I didn't make it the whole way. I was just about to step into the room where she was standing when a pair of arms grabbed me by my waist and pulled me into a closet.

"Gosh, Edward you scared me!" I shrieked, letting out a nervous laugh.

"Sorry, I just couldn't control myself," he said smiling his crooked smile.

"Do I look okay?" I asked brushing my hands down my dress before fingering through my hair. "It took me forev…"

He held his finger up to my mouth.

"You have no idea how devastatingly beautiful you look right now. Alice and Rosalie will be jealous." He said without removing his finger from my lips. I smiled underneath it.

"Now, before you run off…" he smiled seductively.

I looked up at him and placed a soft kiss against his finger. His other hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

The closet door flew open.

"Geez Alice can't you knock!" Edward protested.

"Edward, Bella has stuff to do," she glanced at his arm wrapped tightly around my waist and his finger still against my lips. "And you are not stuff." She turned and flitted off, leaving the door open. Everyone in the room was now staring at us.

I smiled nervously back at Edward, before following Alice up the stairs.

The rest of the day I was helping the florists set up the centerpieces, or instructing the photographers on where they should be, or avoiding suspicious looks from everyone who witnessed the closet escapade. I was sent up to Alice's room when the guests started arriving. She was just lounging in her chair, looking depressed.

"Alice what's wrong, you're getting married today?!" I asked enthusiastically.

"I know, but Esme told me I couldn't help anymore. They better not screw it up, if they don't want to deal with a pissed off me for the next hundred years at least," she pouted. We sat and talked for the next half hour, until it was time for her slip her dress on and for us to line up. She looked amazing, and so did Rosalie. I became a little less confident standing with them as we lined up to start the ceremony. I peeked through the window to the tent. There were _a lot_ of people here. I could see the chairs all full under the tent and the minister and Jasper standing at the front of the aisle on a small riser that was draped with white flowers. Well draped was an understatement. I saw the musicians bring their instruments to playing position. _Well this is it._ Just as the first note hit, I felt someone take my hand. I looked up and saw Edward smiling down at me. I heard myself draw in a sharp breath when I saw him. He looked more stunning than I had ever seen him look, which I thought was impossible. He was dressed in an all black tuxedo, his hair perfectly set, allowing a few strands to dip down into his eyes. I had to remind myself to breath.

"That's our cue love," he said nodding to the door.

I turned quickly to stare ahead of me and told my feet to move. They did, eventually. I felt Edward chuckle as he escorted me down the aisle. I had no idea what my face looked like, if I was smiling or nervous looking or just in a state of Edward intoxication. I was sad to say I didn't remember anything from the ceremony. I only knew it was over when Rosalie nudged me with her elbow and I noticed Edward's arm extended to me. When we got back inside he turned to face me.

"Are you okay?" He said placing his hands on my shoulders.

I finally came back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said laughing. "You have no idea how intoxicating you look right now. I just got a little…drunk off you."

He threw his head back and laughed a booming Edward laugh. He draped his arm over my shoulder as we headed out to the back yard for pictures. The guests came into the house, which was set up for a cocktail hour type thing, while the reception was set up in the tent. After about an hour or so of pictures we headed back in to find that the guests had just been herded out to the reception. The wedding party made their debut to a roar of applause. We took our seats at the head table and I looked down at the heap of food lying on all of our plates.

"Are you guys going to eat?" I whispered, leaning into Edward.

"I told you we could do it, remember?" He said holding his smile.

I did remember that day in the cafeteria. He took a bite out of pizza just to prove to me he could do it. I believe he had compared it to dirt. That didn't sound too appetizing to me, but I guess they had to make an effort to look human.

I watched curiously as I ate to observe the Cullens eating their meals. They showed no disgust as they chewed down the salmon and vegetables. Jasper and Alice even did the whole "feeding each other" display. It was very cute. I was thoroughly entertained watching them put on their façade. That was until the music started playing and Edward was dragging me out on the dance floor.

"Edward you know I hate dancing…" I groaned.

"It's a special occasion Bella, and plus you like dancing with me…"

He was right, I didn't mind dancing with him at all. He made it so easy it was like I was floating on air. We danced to a couple of fast songs, along with Emmett and Alice and Carlisle. When the first slow song came on, everyone broke to find their appropriate partners. Edward pulled me into his arms.

I looked up at his face and he was scanning the room, with a complete look of adoration on his face. I was glad he was so happy. He glanced back down at me.

"I love you," he whispered bringing his forehead to mine.

I smiled slightly and slowly lifted my lips up to meet his. I felt him pull away and I was a little disappointed. I opened my eyes and found him staring at me. He raised his hands up to cradle my face.

"What if we did this?" he asked.

"Did….what?" I said utterly confused.

"This," he said as he looked around the tent.

"Edward we are dancing," I answered.

"No no…I meant something involving the phrases "I do" and "holy matrimony."

He stared back up at him in shock. He was talking about us, having a wedding…getting married.

He must have seen the shock and confusion in my eyes.

"Bella, I don't ever want to be without you. I want to protect you, and take care of you, and love you forever. I want to be your husband. I've always known it I was just too scared to admit it," he said with an encouraging smile.

I still couldn't speak.

I never considered myself the marrying kind; I mean my parents relationship had gone so totally wrong so I'd never had the best role models to represent the joys of marriage. But deep in my heart, even though my head was shouting "no" I knew it was what I wanted too. Apparently my heart won out over my head because I felt my lips whisper "yes." I felt the tears running down my face as Edward scooped me up in his arms and spun me around on the dance floor.

I felt him freeze instantly, and I felt like something was wrong. I felt him look over my shoulder at someone approaching us. I let go of him and turned to face Carlisle. He had the phone in his hand.

"Bella the hospital just called, there's been an accident."


	9. Broken

"What?" I whispered, my eyes darting frantically from Carlisle to Edward.

"Let's go inside," Carlisle said calmly as he gestured towards the door.

"Why won't you tell me what's going on Carlisle?!" I said, my voice starting to escalate.

He turned and started towards the house. I turned towards Edward.

"Bella I think we should follow Carlisle…" he said as he placed his hand on the small of my back. I shook it furiously off.

"Do not touch me right now!" I whispered angrily to him before turning back and jogging to the house. I noticed the faces of the Cullens as I made my way to the house. Their eyes were frozen on me. It was like everything was moving in slow motion. Nobody else at the party even noticed our exchange on the dance floor, but they definitely knew.

I burst through the front door and slammed it behind me but Edward was already there. He and Carlisle locked eyes and I knew they were having one of their silent conversations.

"Damn it Edward tell me!"

He did move his eyes from Carlisle's.

"Tell me! Tell me now!" I said started to beat on his chest. I knew something was very wrong and they weren't telling me. I don't know why but I started crying.

"Bella," Edward finally said as he looked down at me. He gently grasped my wrists and held them to his chest. "There's been an accident…with your father." My body became rigid and I heard myself take a sharp quick breath.

"And Jacob…" Edward continued. He looked directly into my eyes, waiting for my reaction.

"Well where are they? Are they okay, what happened?" I spoke quickly.

"We should get her to the hospital, Edward," Carlisle said, already grabbing for the two sets of keys. "I'll meet you guys up there after I talk to the others."

Edward ushered me quickly out the door and into the Volvo. He drove faster than I'd ever seen him drive. We didn't speak on the way there; I just stared nervously out the window fidgeting with my hands.

The hospital's emergency entrance was crowded by a number of ambulances, but that didn't compare to the waiting room. All of Jake's friends were there, and Sue, and Billy. Mary Ann paced anxiously carrying Maddie. I ran to her and I could tell from her tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes that she'd been crying. This was bad.

"Mary Ann what happened?" I asked quickly. Everyone's eyes darted to me.

She began to speak very fast; it was like she had to get it all out before she broke down or something.

"Jake, Maddie and I were over visiting Billy. On our way home the car broke down…again…so we called your father to come and help us, since Billy wouldn't be able to tow us. I was standing behind our car while Charlie and Jake worked on connecting some cables or something like that. I heard tires screeching behind me, but I didn't see it….I didn't see it until it smashed into them." She started sobbing.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Quil.

"The driver lost control of his car and drove right into them Bella. They're both in surgery right now. It's pretty bad Bella. I'm so sorry," he said giving me shoulder a gentle pat.

I stood frozen, unable to move or speak. Two of the most important people in my whole world were fighting desperately to stay alive. I felt Edward grip my waist as he sat down in a chair. He pulled me onto his lap, slowly rubbing my back trying to relax me. I still didn't speak. I just sat there staring out into space. It was like I wasn't there.

"Carlisle said that Charlie should be out of surgery soon, and Jake might be done in a few hours," he said placing his chin on my shoulder. I turned and cradled into his chest, hoping to escape my dim reality. My tears started slowly and quietly continued for the next hour. I don't remember when I fell asleep, but the next thing I knew I woke up in still in Edward's arms, but we weren't in the waiting room anymore. We were in the bottom of a bunk bed, in a very plain, dark room. The only light source in the room seeped in from the bottom of the closed door. I could hear people bustling about on the other side of it.

"We're in the employee 'sleeping quarters,' it's where Doctors can come to get a nap in during a long shift," Edward said when he realized I was awake.

I sat up and pulled my hair around to one shoulder. I didn't say a word as I started to get up, feeling my way along the wall.

"They're both in recovery, you can see them now," Edward said, suddenly behind me. He opened the door and the room flooded with light. I held up my hand to shield my eyes. He took my hand in his and led me down the hallway to the recovery room. There they were, side-by-side, tubes and monitors surrounding them. Mary Ann was sitting beside Jake's bed, holding his hand and watching the monitor feverishly. Sue sat beside my Dad, doing the same. She stood up when she saw me enter and gave me a hug.

"He's awake sweetie," she said into my ear. "He's been asking for you."

I stared past her at my Dad and I thought I saw his eyes flutter.

"I'll go get an update from Carlisle, Edward said gently caressing my waist before leaving the room. I assumed he wanted to give me some privacy.

I walked towards Charlie, reaching out to take his hand.

"Bells," he said slowly.

He sounded terrible.

"Hey Dad," I said. My voice broke, but I held in the tears. I saw down next to him.

"How are you feeling?" I asked glancing over his body.

"I'm not too shabby," Charlie said, trying to brush it off. I smiled and we didn't say another word for a while, I just sat holding his hand and watched him. The nurse came over to give him some pain medication and he swiftly drifted off to sleep. I turned towards Mary Ann.

"He…he hasn't woken up yet," she said shrugging her shoulders. "They said that, that it doesn't really mean anything…bad, but. I don't understand why he's not awake yet. It's been hours," she said looking back down at Jake. I could see his chest moving up and down, but there was no life to his face at all.

Edward came through the door, willing me over to him. I placed Charlie's hand back down carefully before walking over to him.

"What's going on, what did Carlisle say?" I asked, searching his eyes.

"Both of them had extensive internal injuries, bleeding. He said they think they found it all, but they won't know for a few hours. Neither of them are out of the woods by any means," he glanced over my shoulder at them both. "Jacob had a collapsed lung and your Dad's sternum was broken…among other things. They also both had concussions."

"Well I just talked to my Dad, so he's going to be fine right?"

"They don't know Bella, they're hoping they found all the sources of bleeding, but all they can do is wait."

I winced.

"What about Jake, why isn't he awake?"

"Well," Edward started. "Carlisle had to give him some extra medicine, because of his…condition, so it just may not have worn out yet."

"His condition?" My eyes got big. "You know?!"

"Well of course we know, we're the ones who made the pact with them all those years ago."

It was past visiting hours but Carlisle pulled some strings and we were allowed to stay through the night. Mary Ann went home to relieve the babysitter for a few hours. I told her I would call if there was any change. So there I sat, in between Jake and my Dad. My head resting on my Dad's bed, all while holding Jake's hand from the next bed. Edward took the chair on the other side of my Dad. I fell asleep somewhere around two in the morning, because that was the last time I looked at the clock.

I woke up a few hours later, I could tell because it was still dark out the window. I heard Edward talking…to my Dad. I kept my eyes shut and pretended to be sleeping still.

"Thanks for sticking around Edward, I really appreciate everything you're doing for Bella. And I know that she loves you very much," Charlie said quietly.

"I love her more than anything Charlie, and I'm sorry about what happened before, it was the biggest mistake of my life." I heard Edward shift in the chair to position himself closer to my Dad.

"I can see that you love her Edward, and it makes me so grateful, especially now, that if something were to happen to me that you'd be there to take care of her," Charlie said. I could tell her really meant it. Maybe he finally saw the love Edward and I had for each other.

"Actually Charlie, I know this isn't the best time, but we seldom have the chance to talk privately. I need to talk to you about something," Edward started. "Today at the wedding, I asked Bella to marry me. Well I didn't really ask I just told her that I wanted to be her husband. I want to be the one constant in her life that she can always count on to be there for her. She already said yes Charlie, but I'd love your blessing."

Charlie was silent for a few minutes.

"Edward, I know we've had our differences in the past, but I know that you will take care of my little girl. There's not doubt in my mind that you're the one for her. It took a long time for me to see it, but I do now. I would be proud to call you my son-in-law."

I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding in. I never thought I'd hear him say that, ever. I thought Charlie hated Edward. Thankfully, he had changed his mind, because I'd be heartbroken if he didn't walk me down the aisle. I smiled and went back to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, Edward was gone from the room. Mary Ann wasn't back yet. It was just me and my two guys. They were both asleep. I got up and kissed Charlie's forehead before moving to the chair next to Jake. I took his hand in mine and rubbed it slowly.

"Hey Jake, I think it's about time you wake up. I know you like your sleep, but you're starting to worry us," I started with a little laugh. I cleared my throat. "Maddie needs you, and Mary Ann needs you…and I need you Jake. You are my best friend in the whole wide world and I don't know what I'd do without you, so I need you to open your eyes." I thought I saw his eyes flutter, but they didn't open, but I felt a light squeeze on my hand. I smiled, knowing that he might possibly hear me.

So I sat for the next hour, watching doctors and nurses flutter in and out checking on them. I was exhausted. Sleeping hunched over a bed isn't the most comfortable thing. I decided it was okay to leave for a few minutes; I needed some caffeine so I made my way towards the cafeteria. On my way back, I saw Edward standing outside the recovery room door.

He smiled at me as he reached his arm out to put it around my shoulder.

"How are you holding up?" He asked, tenderly stroking my cheek.

"I'm okay, just really tired," I yawned.

"Do you want to use the "on call" room again?" He pointed back down the hallway.

"No, no I'm good," I said holding up my cup of coffee. "You know I really think everything is going to be okay, I can feel it." I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his neck. We stood for a minute in the embrace, just finally taking a moment to breathe and be together. Everything had been so hectic, I couldn't believe the wedding was only yesterday.

I was about to speak again when I heard a deafening beep coming from inside the recovery room. Both of our eyes shifted to the door as a group of nurses ran past us and into the room.

"We've got a flat line in here, page Dr. Cullen immediately," one of them said to the nurse at the desk.

Edward and I both ran in to the room to see a cluster of people around my Dad and Jake, but I couldn't tell who they were working on. I brought my hands up to my face, absolutely horrified that I was going to lose of them.

One of the nurses pulled the curtain so we couldn't see anything going on with either of them. I looked up at Edward, who was still looking towards the curtain. Carlisle burst in an instant later and briefly connected eyes with Edward, who wrapped his arms lovingly around my waist. Carlisle disappeared behind the curtain, while the terrible beeping sound continued.

"Damn it!" I heard Carlisle say. I rarely heard Carlisle like that before. "It's too late," he said. I could hear the sadness in his voice. I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe. Edward's hands gripped tighter on my waist to steady me, as I my knees began to buckle. "Time of death 10:52 A.M."

Everything went black and I knew I had passed out. My body couldn't handle the immense pain I was about to feel so it just shut down. The question was, who was the pain for. Did I just lose my father or my best friend?


	10. You Found Me

It had been 3 days, 9 hours, and 10 minutes since he died. I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't eating, I wasn't doing much of anything except lying in my bed. Edward didn't push me. He came in each morning with breakfast on a tray, which he'd try to feed me. I just shook my head and repositioned my eyes to look out the window. It'd been raining ever since it happened.

He'd say "You have to eat something love" or "Come on just a little bit" but he didn't understand, he couldn't understand. I loved him for trying, but he just couldn't. It felt like there was a hole in my heart and a chunk of my soul missing. I didn't know how to go on living without him, so I just sat because I didn't know what else to do.

Tonight, Edward lay next to me, absolutely silent. He didn't know what to do or say to help me and I think it was frustrating him. I knew it caused him physical pain to see me like this and not be able to help me. He left me alone when I asked and he held me when I cried, but that's all he could really do.

"Sweetheart…the funeral…it's tomorrow," Edward said slowly.

"It is isn't it?" I said slightly shocked it had come up so soon. Billy had made all the arrangements.

"Do you think maybe you'd like a bath?" Edward said, reaching up to tuck a piece of my hair behind my ear.

I didn't answer, I just looked at him with that same look I'd had on my face for the past 3 days, 9 hours, and 10 minutes. He was off the bed in an instant and into the bathroom where I heard him turn the water on. He came back for me and scooped me up into his arms, carrying me slowly to the bathroom. My arms dangled lifelessly around his neck. He stood me back up and began undressing me while I just stood there, holding my arms above my head. I felt the tears start to flow. He met my eyes and gently wiped a tear that was making its way down my cheek. He took me in his arms again before lowering us both into the warm water, him still in his clothes. He settled into the tub, with me curled on top of him with the tears streaming down my face. He grabbed the soap and started rubbing it down my back while I cried into his chest. The warm water felt good, but not good enough to break me from this depression. He began to hum my lullaby as he loving trickled water down my spine, tracing its path with his fingers.

When the water began to cool, he lifted us both up and wrapped me in a towel before carrying me out to the bed. He handed me a torn up shirt and sweatpants and I pulled them both on mechanically. I crawled into bed, pulling the covers up to my chin and closed my eyes. I felt his arms around me, and an instant later I was asleep.

When I woke in the morning, the light was streaming through my window. I sat up in bed and noticed that I was alone. There was a note on the pillow next to me.

Bella,

I just wanted to give you some time alone this morning. I'm downstairs if you need me. I love you.

Edward

I saw that he had laid out a black dress on the chair in the corner of the room. I got up and shuffled towards the bathroom. I looked absolutely hideous, absolutely haggard and worn out and it was not okay. I wanted to look good for him; he deserved it. I decided right then and there that I was going to pull through this day and be strong, no matter how much I wanted to crawl right back into my bed and go back to sleep.

I splashed some cold water on my face before pulling the dress on. I re-entered the bathroom to find Alice's makeup still on the counter. I figured maybe it could help with the dreary look on my face. I put a little blush on my cheeks and a touch of eye shadow and mascara on. _Waterproof. Good thing. I'll need that today. _I pulled my hair back off my face and tied it loosely at the nape of my neck before brushing my teeth. Afterwards, I took a long look at myself. This was the last place I thought I'd be too months ago. There was a soft tap at the door.

"Can I come in?" Edward asked softly.

"Yeah," I answered, not taking my eyes off my reflection.

He walked in, dressed in a black suit, the same one he'd worn to the wedding. It was odd how one piece of clothing could be worn to such different events. A wedding and a funeral. I laughed at the irony a bit. Edward looked at me a little weird when the chuckle escaped my lips, but he knew better than to question any of my actions the past few days.

"Hey do you think I have time to…you know eat some breakfast before we go?" I asked. I haven't eaten much at all since we left the hospital and I was starving.

He seemed to perk up a little bit when he heard that I wanted to eat.

"Yeah sure we have time, what do you want I'll make it for you?"

"No, no I can do it. I love you for taking care of me Edward, I really do, but I need to start…living again." The term seemed very inappropriate considering our agenda today but that was the only thing that could describe it. I needed to spring back to life. And it may have been too soon, but I couldn't go on like this for much longer. I wouldn't survive it.

We both made our way downstairs where I grabbed a bowl and a box of cereal out of the cupboard. I filled the bowl and poured some milk over it before sitting down in one of the stools.

"Carlisle and Esme will be here in about 15 minutes to pick us up," Edward explained as I chewed. "The rest of them are just going to meet us there." I nodded in understanding.

Today was going to be rough, but I was glad my vampire family was going to be there to support me. It meant a lot. I finished my bowl of cereal mere minutes before Carlisle and Esme arrived. Esme gave me a soft hug and rubbed my back. She was so maternal, it made me miss my own mother. She called last night and said she wouldn't be able to make it back for the funeral. Her and Phil's flight got delayed Atlanta, and there were no flights available. I didn't speak with her. Edward relayed the information after he hung up with her. I wished with all my heart she could be here to support me.

We stopped by the hospital on the way to visit "the one who survived" as the newspaper called him. He was looking so much better and it made me immensely happy to see it. Sue was there, dropping off some extra food that she had set aside. She gave me a hug and a reassuring smile. I was surprised at how well she was handling herself, considering the emotional rollercoaster everyone's been going through since the accident.

The funeral home was packed, absolutely overflowing with people from town and people from the reservation. Billy was a mess, plain and simple. I've never seen him so devastated in his life. We embraced each other for a long time, comforting each other in what we had lost. We were hurting the most, out of everyone here. We had lost the most that day.

The service was very nice; the casket was closed, which I was thankful for. I don't know if I could handle seeing him now. Edward sat with me in the front, next to Billy and Sue. His family occupied the 3rd row, just behind the pack, which took up the entire second row. Mary Ann sat on the other side of me, grasping one of my hands and crying silently. There was an immeasurable amount of sadness percolating throughout the room as we all listened to the eulogy. I was doing fine, until I heard someone behind me start to sob uncontrollably. I tried my best to hold in it but I couldn't. A single tear escaped my eye and fell onto the sleeve of my dress. Edward squeezed my hand, looking at me with a concerned look. I nodded at him, to reassure him that I was okay. Well the best version of okay I could be.

The burial was to be a little more private than the ceremony. Edward stood when the pastor finished and we made our way out to the car. There was an orange funeral flag planted on the front hood. Edward opened the back door for me before sliding into the seat next to me. Carlisle followed the rest of the funeral procession out to the cemetery. It was still raining, so we all huddled under black umbrellas. It was cold, but I still huddled into Edward for comfort rather than warmth.

I didn't remember anything the pastor said before they lowered the casket into the ground. I grabbed a piece of dirt and threw it into the hole. Everyone else followed suit and slowly left the gravesite. I stayed, standing out in the rain. The last time I'd gotten soaked by the rain I had found love, now I had lost it. I knew Edward was still behind me, even though everyone else had gone. Carlisle and Esme had gotten a ride with the others, because they weren't sure how long I would be out here or if I wanted to be alone. I didn't know how to let him go. He had meant so much to me, especially in the past few years. I wouldn't have been able to make it through anything I went through in Forks, or with Edward, unless I'd had him.

I sat down in the wet grass, not caring if I got muddy or if I ruined my dress. I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them before I started rocking back and forth. I couldn't control the heaving sobs that started escaping from me. Edward was there in an instant, sitting beside me with his arm around me. I leaned into him, closing my eyes and breathing him in. I looked back at the gravestone. It was so beautiful, white marble with flecks of gray in it. Between the rain and the crying, I could barely read the epitaph inscribed in the stone. _Charlie Swan, loving father._


	11. Fix You

It had been two weeks since the funeral and my subsequent breakdown at the cemetery. Edward never mentioned it, which I appreciated. He just loved me and took care of me. I tried to break out of my dark place, but I just couldn't seem to get away from it. It felt like I was drowning in a sea of darkness and I was desperately reaching for the surface. The darkness was so constricting sometimes I felt like I couldn't breathe. I would wake up in the middle of the night in absolute hysterics and I couldn't remember why. Edward was always right beside me, taking me in his arms and rocking me back to sleep. He was the breath of fresh air I needed, but there was just something missing.

I still didn't eat much, even though Edward brought me the most delicious looking meals in bed. I was noticeably thinner and it was accentuated by my incredibly pale complexion. There was just no life in me at all. Both Edward and I thought I would snap out of it by now, and I could tell he was starting to get really worried, but it was all I could do to just survive. I just needed to get by day to day…just be.

That night I heard him talking to Carlisle outside my bedroom door. He had thought I was asleep.

"Carlisle, it's getting bad," Edward said. "She won't eat and she just lays in bed all day, I don't know what else to do."

I felt terrible for making him worry.

"I don't know maybe, maybe she needs to…talk to someone. Maybe I can't help her," I could hear the distress in his voice as he said those last words. He had always felt like he had to protect me, but this wasn't anything he could protect me from.

"Yeah, maybe we should try this one last thing, before we go that route. I'd like to avoid that at all costs….Okay I'll get her ready to leave in the morning." I heard him click the phone shut before tiptoeing back into the room. He slowly got back into bed, making sure not to disturb me. I exaggerated my breathing to look like I was still sleeping. He wrapped his arms carefully around me and snuggled closer before bringing his lips to my ear.

"We're gonna beat this babe," he whispered.

I was terrified. Where was he taking me? To some…facility, to some kind of therapy? He was the only thing that was keeping me going at this point and I don't know if I could survive without him. I instinctively gripped his arms with my hands, pulling him close to me. I wouldn't go anywhere without him.

The next morning, when I woke up I saw a packed duffel bag on the floor next to my bed. Edward was in the bathroom, gathering my toothbrush and shampoo.

"Edward where are we going?" I asked innocently. I didn't want him to suspect that I was listening last night.

"Good morning love," he said as he plopped the supplies into the open duffel and sprung lightly to the bed. He kissed me gently before returning to packing. He still didn't answer my question, which probably meant he wasn't going to tell me even if I asked him again.

When he was finished, he zipped up the duffel in one smooth motion and glanced at me with an excited look on his face.

"I have a surprise for you," he said motioning for me to get out of bed.

What, was he trying to trick me? The whole "Oh I have a surprise for you but I'm really abandoning you at a mental facility because I think you're crazy" trick. I got up and shuffled towards him with a very suspicious look.

"What I can't surprise you?" he said mockingly.

"You can surprise me all you want as long as you're part of the surprise," I said sarcastically.

"Well you're in luck, because I am part of the surprise. What did you think I was going to let you enjoy it all yourself?"

That made me feel better. I didn't think he would flat out lie to me, maybe avoid the truth, but not lie. He was going where I was going, and wherever that was I could deal was long as he was with me.

When we got downstairs, Carlisle was just pulling up in his Mercedes. Edward popped the trunk and lifted the duffel into it.

"Where's your bag?" I asked, starting to get scared again.

"I just packed my stuff with yours, I don't need much to get by," he said with a smile. I smiled a little.

"Are we ready?" Carlisle said, opening the door for me.

I shook my head and scooted into the back seat. Edward sat in the front, which was a little unusual. He would normally sit in the back with me.

We pulled out of my driveway and started out on the road that headed towards Seattle.

"Your flight leaves in a few hours," Carlisle said softly to Edward.

We're flying somewhere? Where the hell are we going?

Carlisle handed Edward a piece of paper.

"Give this to the security guard when you land, he'll let you in."

Did Carlisle know of this top-notch facility or something? I was becoming more confused and more terrified each passing second. Maybe Edward was just going with me to smooth the transition, or to just drop me off. My breathing started accelerating. Edward heard the change and smiled back at me. He reached back and took my hand in his before turning back to Carlisle.

"And everything should be taken care of and ready when we arrive?," he asked.

"Yes they know you're coming," Carlisle answered.

A short time later we pulled into the airport and Edward unloaded the bag.

"See you later Bella," Carlisle called from the front seat.

"Bye," I called in a lifeless voice.

I turned and noticed we were at the international terminal.

"Edward I didn't bring my passport," I said.

"It's okay, I got it," he said holding both of ours up.

He checked us in quickly and we headed for our gate. I didn't look at the tickets or any of the signs. I didn't want to know where my…fiancée was leaving me at. If he even wanted to marry me anymore.

I slept on his shoulder while we waited for our flight to board. We were in first class, of course. The flight was incredibly long, but I assumed we were going east, since we didn't cross any oceans and I could have sworn we passed the Rockies. My suspicions were confirmed when we landed in Dallas for a short layover. When we took off again the flight was relatively short, I didn't even fall asleep. It was nighttime before we landed. I thought our flight experience was over, but apparently not. Edward collected our luggage from the belt and headed right back out towards the gates. He flashed something at the security personnel, who opened a door for us…that led directly out on to the tarmac.

I looked in shock at an incredibly small plane. Edward helped me in before climbing in after me.

"Edward where's the pilot?" I asked, looking around the outside of the plane.

He just laughed and began crawling into the front seat.

"Of course you can fly a plane, what was I thinking?" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Would you like to be my co-pilot?," he said adjusting the earphones on his head. He did look pretty cute; I don't know how I could resist. My mouth turned up a little into a minute smile. He patted the seat next to him. I crawled into it, and he handed me a pair of earphones just like his.

"You don't fly like you drive do you?" I asked, panic ripping through my body.

"Not with precious cargo," he said bring his hand up to my cheek.

"We're ready for takeoff," he said into the microphone attached to his earphones.

He reached down and pushed a bunch of flips and switches and buttons. The airplane started to lurch forward, until it was full out cruising down the runway. I gripped the seat tighter.

Edward pulled back on what I guessed was the steering wheel and we began to lift off the ground. He was actually really good at it.

Edward put on his best pilot voice.

"Uh…Good evening Ladies and..Lady, we have reached our cruising altitude…and uh we should be arriving at our destination in about….40-50 minutes. So uh…just uh..sit back and enjoy the flight. And as always, thank you for flying Cullen Airways. We're fly the planes, so you don't have to."

I laughed for the first time in weeks, I thought I was going to cry. He winked at me and cracked a smile.

"So, as my co-pilot," he began. "I was wondering if you wanted to take her for a spin?," he said, gesturing to the steering wheel.

"Edward…I don't know how to fly," I looked at him puzzled.

"It's okay it's easy. And I'll help you." He patted his lap.

I looked at him tentatively.

He took his arms off the steering wheel and yanked me over onto his lap.

"Okay so, left is left, right is right, back is up and forward is down…got it?" He said demonstrating each.

"Uh…no."

He took my hands and placed them on the wheel, with his on top of mine guiding them.

"Oh…like this," I said. "Yeah this is pretty easy. I can't believe I'm flying a plane right now," I said with a giggle.

Edward smiled as he looked at my face. He kissed just below my ear and continued softly down to my collarbone.

The plane shuddered a little.

"Uh, Edward you probably shouldn't do that while we're thousands of feet in the air."

He laughed. "Good thinking. Drunk flying is just as bad as drunk driving."

I flew the plane for another 10 minutes before Edward took over again. I could tell we were preparing to land, but I couldn't see any sign of civilization. Where the hell were we?

He put on his pilot voice again.

"Uh…attention passengers, we will be landing in uh…5-10 minutes…uh shortly…so if you could please fasten your seatbelts and set your tray tables in the upright position we'll be ready for landing. Again thank you for flying Cullen Airways, we appreciate your business."

I could tell we started to descend, but I still couldn't see any kind of airport or runway. He began to just…descend into the darkness.

"Edward…where is the airport?"

"Oh there isn't one." He answered.

"THERE ISN'T AN AIRPORT?! Where are we landing, a fricking field?" I screamed.

"Relax, sweetheart, I can see the runway perfectly well," he said smirking.

I sat back and crossed my arms. "Hmpfh."

He laughed.

All the sudden I felt a slight shudder and then it was totally smooth.

"How did you do that?" I asked when I realized we'd landed.

"I told you I could see the runway."

I still couldn't see ten feet out of the plane, I had no idea where this so-called runway was. I squinted my eyes, trying to make out anything in my surroundings. I noticed that the ground was reflecting the little light that the moon was giving off.

"WE LANDED IN WATER?!" I shrieked.

Edward laughed again.

He shut the engine down and opened the door to the airplane. I looked down tentatively.

"There's a dock there," he said.

I looked back at him, not convinced. He jumped down and landed on something hard and solid before helping me out the plane. Edward reached in and grabbed our luggage before taking my hand and leading me down the invisible dock.

"Edward where are we going?" I asked started to get impatient that I couldn't see anything.

"We…are going right there," he said pointing up.

I could see it then. There was an outline of a house that must have been either floating in mid air or on a hill. There was one source of light coming from inside a pulled curtain.

"Where are we?" I said, looking up in amazement.

"Carlisle rented it for us, it's the only house for miles. And its got its own personal lake. He thought we might need…some time away from everything. It's ours for as long as we want."

"Oh my gosh," I sighed. He wasn't taking me to therapy; he was taking me on vacation. I smiled a huge smile and leaped into his arms.

"Well show me around Mr. Cullen."


	12. It's Been Awhile

I woke up the next morning to the smell of…bacon coming from where I thought was the kitchen. I sprung out of bed, more happily than I had in weeks, and sought out the source of the wonderful smell. There he was, my own personal chef, wearing nothing but boxers and some very cute slippers.

I tiptoed into the room, trying to sneak up behind him. Moving ever so slowly, I creeped around the kitchen's island, careful not to knock the three barstools placed there. This was actually fun, I had never really snuck up on Edward before. I smiled a little in spite of myself as I crouched, ready to spring.

"Good morning!" He said, unnecessarily loud, as he spun around with a plateful of crisp bacon.

"Gah!" I gasped. "How do you end up being the one scaring me when I was trying to sneak up behind you?" I added, very frustrated.

"I have eyes in the back of my head," he said seriously as he grabbed for the bread that had just sprung out of the toaster.

"Do you really?" I asked in awe. It really wouldn't surprise me, with all the other talents he has.

"No," he laughed. I looked expectantly towards the plate of food, inhaling its glorious smell.

"Down girl," Edward said smiling.

I shuffled over to on of the barstools and plopped down, anxiously awaiting my food.

"So…you can cook, you can fly, you have eyes in the back of your head….what other talents do you have that I don't know about?" I questioned.

Edward began scraping the scrambled eggs out of pan.

"Well," he began. "I can balance a yard stick on my forehead, knit and crochet, and I was an Olympic ping pong player back in the seventies." He placed the plate in front of me before taking a seat in the other barstool.

I sat, my mouth wide open, trying to decide if he was joking or not. He smirked at me. "Bon appetite," he said motioning to my plate.

I grabbed the fork and dug in. It was delicious. Beyond delicious. I had never tasted anything so good in my life. I gobbled it up quickly, pretty much scorching my mouth on the eggs.

"So what would you like to do today?" Edward asked.

"What is there to do around here?" I asked, shoving down my last bite of toast.

"There's plenty. We can go swimming, skiing, hiking, boating, sailing, canoeing, rip cording, hang gliding…"

"Woah, woah, woah," I started. "Hiking?...Hang gliding?...Edward be realistic, we're talking about me here."

"True, maybe we should just stick around here and work into it. I did have them stock up on some reading material for you," he motioned to the enormous bookshelf in the corner of the room.

"Ooooh," I said slowly, standing up and making my way over. I fingered through the collection before settling on some Shakespeare. I turned back to the room, trying to decide where I was going to place myself for rest of the day.

"I've got someplace better," Edward said with a smile.

He quickly chose a book out of the shelf and took my hand. Pulling back the curtain, he revealed an amazing deck coming off the room perfectly overlooking the lake. The sun was high in the sky, but the deck was shaded mostly by the immense tropical looking trees covering every inch that could be seen, except for the water. In the corner of the deck, there was a green cloth hammock. One end was tied to the house and the other to one of the trees springing up on the side of the deck.

Edward opened the sliding glass door and gestured out on to the deck. I stepped outside into the warmth. It felt so good to be in someplace so warm and so dry and so…not Forks.

"Where exactly are we?" I asked turning back to face him,

"Somewhere in Mexico," he answered.

I was satisfied with that. At least I knew what country I was in. I walked slowly over to the hammock, taking my time to appreciate the view. I very carefully lowered myself into the hammock, patting beside me willing Edward to join me. He slipped in with little effort, with his head at my feet.

"This is amazing," I whispered, still looking out at the lake.

"I'm glad you like it," he said with a smile. I could tell he was more than glad, he was ecstatic.

We read for the rest of the day, basking in the sunshine when it managed to sneak through the tree canopy. Edward would run out periodically to get me something to eat or drink, but for the most part we stayed in the hammock all day. I shivered slightly when the sun began to dip below the horizon. It definitely got a little colder at night.

"Should we head inside, are you getting cold?" Edward asked, putting down his book.

"No, no. I want to stay out here, its too beautiful too waste any time inside." I said throwing my book down on the deck.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," Edward said instantly getting off the hammock. It swung a little from the absence of his weight, but he was back again before it could swing back. He tucked me into the blanket he brought out and handed me a cup of hot chocolate.

"Marshmallows?" I asked.

"Duh," he said sarcastically.

We sat silently in the hammock watching the darkness fall over us.

"Edward I'm sorry," I finally said, looking up at the sky.

"What are you sorry for love?" he asked, glancing my way,

"For everything, just how I've been lately. I know it hasn't been easy on you, but I promise I'm going to be better."

"Bella…you lost your father, there's no right or wrong way to deal with that. I'm just sorry I couldn't help you," he said looking down.

"Edward you did help me, more than you know. There's no way I would have made it through without you…but it wasn't anything you could help me with..no matter how much you wanted to or how much I wanted you to. I just had to get through it myself." I took a deep breath.

"It's just so hard," I continued. "I feel like I didn't get enough time with him, like maybe I should have visited more often or stayed closer to home for college. Just done more to be with him, I was all he had."

"Bella, he knows how much you loved him and cared for him. It wasn't hard to see," Edward said, starting to rub up and down my leg.

"Yeah, I guess," I said blinking back the tears.

I don't remember when I fell asleep, but for the first time in awhile, I didn't have nightmares.

The next day we made our way down to the water. I tested the water, dipping my toes in. Edward did a cannonball off the end of the dock. I laughed at him and at my coyness, before following him with my own very modest leap. He swam over to me and took me in his arms.

"Lay back," he said.

I did as he said as he supported my back. I was floating on top of the water and he was making sure I wouldn't sink. I smiled at the feeling of weightlessness that radiated throughout me. And I didn't just mean literally. I felt like this huge weight had been taken off of my shoulders. I felt totally and completely free.

I laughed, placing my hands on Edward's shoulders and pulling myself back up to him.

"Love you," I said kissing him gently.

He answered by kissing me back, leaving my lips and trailing down my neck and to my shoulder where he lingered for a moment. I looked back into his eyes, never realizing that it was possible to love him more than I had before. It was possible and it was amazing.

Without thinking, I reached my hand behind my back and undid my bikini tie. I slipped it off and threw it up onto the dock.

"What are you doing?" Edward said laughing.

"Living a little bit," I said as I slipped out of my bottoms, throwing them up with my top. I gave him a wink and began swimming out into the lake. I heard his trunks hit the dock and I smiled into the water. We spent the rest of the day in the water and the next two days nursing my sunburns from spending the rest of the day in the water. Edward was so lucky he couldn't burn. At least I didn't have any tan lines.

For the remainder of the week, we stayed at the house, reading and such. Edward even showed me how to knit. I've never seen anything so hilarious as Edward with knitting needles. He knitted a full-length blanket while I was only a quarter of the way done with a measly scarf.

"Edward," I said as I set down the monstrosity of a scarf, "I think I might be ready to go home tomorrow."

He set down the book he was reading.

"Are you sure, I mean we can stay as long as we want?"

"I can't hide from reality Edward, as much as I'd love to stay here. Our life is in Forks and we can't act like it doesn't exist."

"Okay," he smiled. "I'll make the arrangements." He pulled out his phone and walked to the other room. I was sad to know this was our last night here, it had helped me recover so much, but it was time to go home.

"I'm gonna go get ready for bed," I called to Edward in the other room. He nodded his head as he continued speaking to the airport.

I walked into the bedroom and saw the couple candles sitting around the bed. I had an idea. It _was_ our last night here, we should make it memorable. I crept back in the kitchen, peeking around the corner to make sure Edward was still occupied by his phone call. I fumbled around quietly in the drawers, looking for matches. I eventually found them, along with some wine. I tiptoed back to the bedroom with my spoils. The matches took forever to light, I broke the first two, but I eventually lit one long enough to get the candles going. I moved around the room, placing them at appropriate spots. There were several dressers in the room, and I started searching through the drawers for anything else I could use, or maybe something to put the wine in. I stopped when I noticed a silky piece of lingerie. With a note attached. _Alice._

_Bella,_

_Just in case. Be fearless._

_Alice_

I could just see the smirk on her face while she was writing this. I was utterly embarrassed and happy at the same time that she'd done this. It was perfect. I slipped into the bathroom, leaving the wine on the bed stand. I held up the lingerie, not even knowing how to start putting it on. It took me a good ten minutes. It actually didn't look too bad, especially with my new tan. Little freckles had started to pop up across my nose and cheeks and my hair had natural sun streaked highlights peeking out.

I took one last look at myself and called out into the bedroom.

"Edward?"

There was no answer. He must not be in there yet. I peeked my head out. Nope, definitely not there. He needs to hurry up, I won't be this brave all night.

I sighed when I heard the door open and close.

"Wine?" he asked laughing.

"Yeah," I called through the bathroom door. "I thought we should….celebrate our last night."

"Sounds good," he said. I heard him unzip the duffel. He was probably wondering why my PJs were still in there.

I opened the door slowly and stepped out. He had his back to me, his hands at the hem of his shirt, getting ready to change. He started to lift it up over his head.

"Would you like some help with that?" I said, clearing my throat.

"Huh?" he said turning towards me. He stopped mid-lift when he saw me. His mouth dropped open and his eyes got big. He was, for loss of a better word, frozen. His shirt was halfway up, stalled at his neck.

"That good?" I asked, motioning to my attire.

He swallowed hard and nodded his head.

"Well," I began as I made my way to the bed. "It is our last night here," I said as I began crawling across the bed towards him, "and I thought we should make it…special."

I finally reached him, still frozen with his shirt half on, half off. I traced my finger up from the waistband of his pants up to where his shirt rested, before helping him take it off. His pale skin looked amazing in the candlelight. I placed one finger on my shoulder strap and pushed it off. I followed suit with the other, keeping my eyes on him the entire time. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself up to him. Bringing my lips mere centimeters from his ear, I bit lightly on his earlobe dragging my teeth down his neck.

"Yes please," Edward said quickly.

I laughed. I had no idea what question he was answering, but it was enough encouragement for me. Needless to say, we didn't make it to the wine that night.

I felt the sun on my bare back the next morning, accompanied by the cool trickle of Edward's finger on my calf. I smiled and opened my eyes. He was lying at the opposite end of the bed, making circles idly on my leg.

"Wow," I said breathing deeply.

As soon as he realized I was awake, he changed his position so that we were eye to eye.

"Last night was amazing," he whispered, before kissing me.

And it was. It wasn't like the other times. They were all loving and tender, don't get me wrong, but there was something about last night. It was even more. This whole trip made me realize how much I really did love Edward. I never knew you could be this in love. I giggled at the thought. I was so happy, right here in this moment and I knew that I was going to get to have this kind of happiness forever with Edward. Well, I wanted it to be forever. Edward had never mentioned anything about me becoming immortal since our "engagement." I wondered if he had changed his mind on the subject.

"Edward," I began.

"Mmm?" He said nuzzling into my neck.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Maybe this was a bad time, maybe I should wait and just enjoy the moment, but I couldn't wait.

"I wanted to talk to you about the wedding….and making me immortal afterwards." I felt him stiffen. This was definitely not a good sign. _Good plan Bella; ruin a perfectly amazing moment with your big mouth, _

"No," he said sternly.

"No what?" I said a little irritated. "No you don't want to marry me anymore, or no you don't want me immortal?"

"Bella I'm not having this conversation with you…again," he said furrowing his brow and looking up at me.

"What are you going to do Edward, marry me and then sit by while I age and die?!" My voice started to rise in volume and anger.

"Bella," he said slowly through his teeth.

I stared him down, and he stared right back showing no signs of letting up.

"We have to get going, our plane leaves in a few hours," he said getting up.

He made his way quickly around the room, gathering all of our stuff. I lay in bed watching him, breathing heavily with my arms crossed. He didn't want to talk about it? Fine. I could give him the silent treatment too.

I swear I could hear crickets chirping on the plane ride back. And the car ride was even worse. I was so angry. I was more than angry, I was absolutely livid. And the silence from both of us wasn't helping the situation but I couldn't talk to him right now. Carlisle must have known something was up, but he was too polite to ask. He pulled into the driveway and Edward hopped out of the car. It was pretty warm out, especially for Forks.

"Carlisle, you may want to wait here a moment," I said politely as I climbed out of the car.

Edward started to carry our bag up to the house. I yanked it away from him and stormed up the front porch. Slamming the door in Edward's face felt better than I imagined it would. I assumed he took that as a hint that he was staying at Carlisle's tonight because he didn't follow me in. I stomped up the stairs to our room and sat down on the bed.

"Ugh! Vampires!" I sighed as I got under the covers and drifted off to sleep, mad as hell.


	13. Hey Lady

I tossed and turned for the next few hours, trying to get to sleep, but it was no use. I got up eventually and went on a hunt for chocolate or ice cream or chocolate ice cream. The freezer had just become my best friend. Before I knew it I had eaten half of the originally full tub of mint chocolate chip. After becoming utterly disgusted with my typical girl behavior and stalked back up to my room.

I started crying at some point, I didn't know when or particularly what incited it. _Why was this such a difficult issue for him? How could he want to marry me, but leave me human?_ It didn't make any sense. My mind was spinning with a million different reasons. Maybe he didn't want to marry me after all? Maybe it was all just a spur of the moment thing, and he was regretting bringing it up? The tears began flowing a little more, soaking my pillowcase. I knew it was too good to be true.

I snapped my head towards the window because I could have sworn I heard a noise, but there was nothing there. I resumed my self-pity session. _Who the hell does he think he is, asking me to marry him and then practically taking it back? If he didn't intend on changing me why would he even ask? _Another noise at the window. I knew I wasn't imagining this time. I kept my eyes zeroed in on the pane. _Do it again. _Then I saw them. Little pebbles hitting my window, just big enough to make a soft tapping sound.

I crawled quietly out of bed and made my way over to the window. I squinted out into the darkness and there he was. Edward was standing in my front lawn, throwing rocks at my window. _So high school…and so cute. Why did he have to look co cute? I'm supposed to be mad at him. _I opened the window and breathed in the still warm air.

"Edward!" I whispered. "What the hell are you doing?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I wanted to talk to you…" he said.

"You couldn't have used the front door?"

"Well, I didn't know if you wanted to talk to me," he said looking down at his feet.

I looked at him, exhausted and not wanting to argue.

"Come on then," I motioned. I turned and headed towards the stairs, planning to make my way down and let him in.

"Where are you going?" he asked, suddenly behind me.

I turned back to him.

"I was going to let you in, but I forgot you can just climb up my house," I said plopping down on the bed. He was still technically outside, resting on my roof right outside my window. "Are you going to come in?"

"Actually," he began, "I wanted to show you something." He pointed up. Up to where I wasn't sure, but I looked at him very puzzled.

"I promise it's worth it," he said trying to smile.

I got up from the bed and went toward the window. Crossing my arms, I let out a huge sigh.

"I should probably carry you," he said opening his arms to me.

I jumped in them very unenthusiastically.

With two bounds he was on the very top of my roof, where there was already a blanket and a thermos of what I guessed was coffee.

"What is all this?" I asked motioning to the display.

"There's something I wanted you to see, and plus I need to talk to you about some things."

He laid me down gently on the blanket and offered me some coffee, which I gladly took. I was exhausted and by the sound of it this was going to be a long night. I took a sip and it the warmth felt good running down my throat.

"So?" I questioned. "What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Bella," he turned towards me. "I don't ever want you to think that I don't love you, or don't want to marry you, or don't want to be with you forever. I want to do all those things. But you need to understand how difficult of a situation this is for me…"

"And you need to understand something Edward," I said adamantly. "If we are getting married and committing ourselves to each other, we can't do it half assed. You can't say that you want to marry me, but you don't want to change me, it doesn't work that way. If we're getting married then I'm not staying human, I can't. It's not logical. So if you want me, you have to want all of me forever. That's it, plain and simple, it's all up to you." I said confidently, assured that I had spoken my peace.

"I don't know Bella it's just…"

"So what, you don't want to marry me?" I whispered. I had to admit that I felt a little hurt. The fact that he was second guessing himself was not a good sign. He was silent.

"Fine," I said starting to get up. "I don't want to marry someone who doesn't want to marry me."

The roof was looking exponentially more treacherous as I tried to maneuver my way down. I slipped, of course, and was sure that I was going to plummet to my death. Edward quickly grabbed me before I could muster up a good scream.

"Please be more careful and take better care of yourself, you are the most precious thing in my world," he said sitting us both down again.

He sat there for a long time, silent. He would occasionally glance up at the stars or down at his shoes. He finally looked up and stared me straight in the eye.

"Okay," he said.

"Okay?" I questioned.

"Yeah…okay."

I was confused. That was easy.

"Why?" I asked, totally baffled. He chuckled.

"I never thought…I would find someone who makes me as happy as you do. When I'm not with you, I feel pain. When you're hurting, I feel pain. It's like you are a part of me. You've always been and you always will be. I want to be with you forever and I'm willing to do whatever you want to make that happen. I'm willing to fight for you, for us. I'm not giving up and you can't either." He pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing a beautifully simple ring. "Isabella Swan, you are my always and forever, will you please marry me?"

"Yes," I whispered without even thinking. It wasn't even a question. I was going to marry this man and get him all to myself for the next forever. I jumped into his lap and kissed him.

"Look up," he sighed when I finally let his lips go.

The sky was lit with magnificent streaks of glowing lights streaming across the horizon.

"Oh…" I said looking up in awe.

"It's a meteor shower. This one only comes around every hundred or so years."

I looked back at him. "Thank you…" I said smiling at him.

He glanced down at our intertwined hands. "So are you ready for the ring?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

I chuckled. "Yes I am."

He gracefully removed the ring from its setting and slipped it onto my left hand. I could really see it now. It was white gold, a very simple and clean band. The diamond was a medium sized princess cut, with several small diamonds outlining the larger one.

"Alice helped me pick it out," he noted.

"Wow…it's perfect."

We both lay back on the blanket, gazing up at the amazing show that was taking place in the sky above us. _Speaking of Alice._

"Edward we need to talk about Alice. I know she's going to want to do the wedding, but I was kind of hoping for something…small."

"I've already talked to her about it…and she promises she can do small. I actually already have the place picked out."

"You do, do you? How were you so sure I was going to say yes?"

"Please, my sister can see the future. And plus I don't think I need Alice to see into your heart." He placed his hand over it. "So how about next week?"

"Next week?" I asked confused. "Next week for what?"

"The wedding silly."

"Holy cow that's soon." I said thinking it over. I mean there really was no need to wait. And plus with it being small, we didn't have to worry about guests.

I deliberated for a long moment.

"I'd be okay with that."

I curled up into his chest, pulling the blanket up around me. _He must have really planned this out._

"Geez do you have the minister and my dress picked out as well?" I said laughing into him.

"Well Alice took care of the dress, and Carlisle's been ordained for the past 100 years."

_Of course._

"You know what, whatever you have planned is fine with me, as long as you're waiting for me at the end of the aisle." I said looking up at him. "You are all I could ever want or need and I'm so happy that you're going to be my husband."

"I like the sound of that…husband." He said smirking to himself.

We sat in silence for a few moments, staring at each other.

Then we both spoke simultaneously.

"Holy crap we're getting married." Our laughter echoed into the night.


	14. Buried Myself Alive

Edward and the rest of the Cullens decided it was best that they go hunting this weekend, considering the wedding was next week. I didn't want him to leave, but I knew he needed it. His eyes had grown incredibly hungry in the past few days.

"We'll be back early Sunday, call Jake if you need anything. He's on standby," Edward said with a wink. Of course he would have someone on standby, I'm an accident waiting to happen.

After they left, I decided to give Jake a call. He and Mary Ann were hoping to go out tonight, but apparently their babysitter had cancelled. This was my perfect opportunity to spend some time with Maddie.

"Please Jake, I can handle this. She can even stay until tomorrow morning so you guys can have the whole night to yourselves. You deserve it," I said.

He reluctantly agreed. I knew it had nothing to do with me or my ability to take care of his girl, but it was just a new parent fear. I would have a hard time my first night away from her too.

Jake was on my doorstep less than an hour later with Maddie and all of her stuff. We set up the makeshift crib before he jetted out again.

"Lookin spiffy Jake," I said as I nodded to his dressed up attire.

"I try," he said with a smile, he turned to Maddie. "Okay now Mads, you take care of your Aunt Bella. Keep an eye on her and don't let her near any electrical outlets or sharp objects."

"Very funny Jake," I said sarcastically. He chuckled.

"Alright so I guess that's it…" he said as he looked reluctantly at the door. He was stalling.

"Jake," I smiled. "Just go, enjoy yourselves. Us girls will be just fine." I gave Maddie a smile before glancing back at Jake. He finally made his way out the door, stealing about ten looks back at the house before actually getting in his car. Maddie and I watched, very entertained, from the window.

"You miss," I began as she took my finger in her little hand, "you have your Daddy wrapped pretty tightly around your finger. Your mom didn't even have that much trouble leaving you here. This is a good thing. A very good thing. Use it to your advantage."

She giggled as if she understood. It was close to 7, which meant she should eat soon. I headed to the kitchen to warm her up some formula. I hummed to myself as the stove heated up. She sat silently waiting for her food, occasionally giggling my way. I danced towards her, an awkwardly nerdy dance, and she seemed to really like that.

There was a knock on the door.

"Stay here sweetie, I'll be right back, your Dad really needs to cut the cord," I said as I headed out the doorway. I peeked back at her to make sure she wasn't attempting to escape. I heard my phone vibrating on the kitchen table so I ran back to get it before answering the door. It was Edward.

"Hey," I answered heading back to the front door. I grabbed the doorknob as he began speaking very quickly.

"Bella listen to me, Alice just saw something, don't-." My phone cut out. Damn battery. I really need to start charging it more often.

I opened the door, suspecting Jake either forgot something or just wanted to check on us "one last time." I froze when I saw who was on the other side of the door.

"Danny what are you doing here?" I asked, stepping out on the porch and closing the door slightly behind me. I didn't want him anywhere near Maddie.

"You know," he started, this was not a friendly visit. Not that anything with Danny was friendly, but I didn't like the tone in his voice. "I wasn't one hundred percent positive that you'd come back here…until I saw your picture in the paper. You know, your father's funeral."

"Danny I think you should leave, Edward is upstairs and I don't think he'd appreciate you being here." I lied; it was all I could do. I wanted him out of here now.

"No he's not," I watched them pack up their stuff and leave earlier today. And your other little friend Jake left about a half hour ago. I know you're alone." He took a giant step towards me.

"Danny-" I started to say, but I couldn't finish. He pushed me back into the door, forcing it open and causing me to fall on the floor. I heard the baby start to cry from the other room.

"Who's that?" He said with a sadistic smile as he started heading towards the sound.

"Oh no you don't!" I heaved myself up at him, tripping him and bringing him down to the ground with me. He was shocked initially but then he realized what I soon did. He was bigger and stronger than me. He took both of my wrists in one hand, squeezing them tightly together. I heard something snap, but I didn't pay attention to the pain. All of my focus was on keeping him away from the baby. He stopped when he noticed the ring on my left hand.

"Aw, isn't that precious?" He laughed at himself. "What did you have his love child too?" He nodded towards the kitchen. Obviously he can't do math or doesn't have knowledge of human biology.

"Stay away from her!" I shrieked. I could feel my motherly protection instincts starting to kick in. "You can do what you want with me, just leave her out of this!"

"Good! I'll take you up on that!" He said smiling, pulling us both to our feet. He started pulling me towards the staircase. _This was bad…very very bad. _The only good thing about the situation that I could think of at the moment was that he wasn't going to be near Maddie.

Dragging me practically by my hair, we both stumbled up the stairs. He pushed me into the first bedroom, my bedroom, and slammed the door behind us. I heard the lock click before he looked back at me.

"Danny….what are you doing?!" I cried at him. He didn't answer, he just stalked towards me. I fell back on the bed.

"Bella, Bella, Bella…did you really think I was just going to let you leave me like that?" He slowly climbed on the bed.

"No! Get off!" I tried to push him back.

I felt his hands on my shoulders and heard the rip of my shirt. He dealt a blow to my cheek, pretty similar to the last one. It hurt like hell and I let out a scream. He stepped back and unbuttoned his jeans. His hands reached for the hem of his shirt and he tried to pull it off. He was in such a hurry to take it off that he got all tangled up in it, completely blinded as the shirt got caught around his face. It was my chance.

I quickly reached in my nightstand drawer. I felt around, my hands desperately grasping for my target. When they wrapped around the can of pepper spray, I brought it back out, concealing it in my hands. Once Danny got his shirt off, he started fuddling with his pants again.

"Let me help you," I said, trying to act flirty, with tears still streaming down my face.. It was all a mask, and he knew it. He just didn't know why. He smiled and made his way towards me. I mustered a smile back up at him as my fingers pulled his zipper down. I stood up off the bed and pulled his jeans down to his ankles. He closed his eyes.

"Bella I'm so glad you're cooperating. I didn't want to make this…painful for you."

As I began to rise from the floor, I swung my leg back hoping to get some good momentum. I used all the power in me to give a swift kick between his legs. He cowered back in pain, pawing at the affected area. I brought the pepper spray out and gave him a good spray in the eye. Now he didn't know which area to tend to, his eyes or his manhood. He leaned back against the wall.

"I hope you rot in hell!" I screamed as I whipped my fist back and swung it forward, connecting squarely with his nose. I heard it crack, definitely broken. He fell down on the floor, his hands covering his face. I gave a swift kick to his ribs, and then did it again starting to cry hysterically. I didn't even notice the door burst open.

Edward's arms wrapped around me and pulled me towards the bed. He cradled me as I rocked back and forth, completely breaking down. I could barely see Emmett, who was standing over Danny.

"God Bella I'm so sorry, we got back here as fast as we could. Did he hurt you?" Edward said, falling back to examine me a little better. His fingers perused over the abrasions on my cheek before bringing his lips to it. I tried to pull myself together. Edward started wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Look at my girl, kicking ass and taking names," he said trying to stop my crying. I laughed a little. I wasn't in the best shape, but the situation could have been a lot worse.

I looked down at Danny, throwing daggers at him with my glances. He looked anxiously from Edward to me to Emmett, and finally towards the door.

"You make one move and I'll make a tack-filled wedgie sound like a good time," Emmett snorted towards him.

"Where's Maddie, is she okay?!" I asked frantically, my sobs returning.

"She's fine, she's with Esme and Alice," Edward answered, pulling the hair back from my face. I shuddered away.

He looked at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry Edward, I just…" I nodded towards Danny. I'd had enough physical touch for the day, even from Edward. It sounded horrible and I didn't even understand why I felt that way. It was Edward; he was the love of my life, why was it so hard for me to have him touch me? He instantly released me and kept his distance. He looked pained to do so, but I hoped he understood that it wasn't him that I was pushing away.

After I calmed down a bit, Emmett and Edward led Danny back down the stairs. I heard various threats towards him if he ever so much as set a foot in Forks again, or even thought about my name. I felt like this time he would pay attention.

Alice came up to check on me. I couldn't talk, to any of them. I felt oddly paranoid of everything. She looked at me worried, not judging how I was acting. She floated to the bathroom, grabbing a washcloth and some bandages.

"I called Jake, he just picked up Maddie," she said as she began cleaning and bandaging my cheek. She must have seen the question in my lifeless eyes.

"No he's not mad at you, he's grateful that you got Danny away from Maddie. And he's so glad that you're safe. He wanted to check on you himself, but I convinced him that you were fine and needed a little time."

I didn't respond.

She helped me change into my pajamas and pulled back the sheets. I crawled in, still thinking over my strange reaction to Edward's touch earlier. _What was my deal?_

Alice must have left, because I suddenly realized I was alone in my room. I stared out the window at the moon as it rose above the horizon. There was a soft knock at the door.

"Bella, love? Can I come in?" Edward said softly peeking his head in. He must have taken my non-response as a yes. He closed the door behind him and sat on the bed. He seemed hesitant to touch me, but he reached a hand out and set it on my shoulder. I involuntarily jerked away from him. "Sorry," I heard him whisper.

I didn't want to do this to him. He wasn't doing anything wrong. Something just snapped in me today, like anything that touched me was going to hurt me. I was fearful of every caress, every gesture, every touch. I couldn't be like this, not now. Everything was falling into place. I was marrying the man of my dreams and we were going to start out life together, and now I can't even stand for him to touch me.

"Edward," I started. My voice cracked a little from the crying and the lack of speaking. "I need to go, I need to leave."

"Okay where do you want to go? We can go anywhere, we can go back to Mexico." He said kindly. He was grasping for anything that would help me. I could tell he was desperately trying to avoid the Bella from pre-vacation.

"No, no Edward. I mean, I need to get away. Alone. Without you. I just need to…go," I said looking down. My eyes were starting to tear up again. I didn't want to leave him. And this didn't mean I didn't love him or want to marry him, I just obviously have some serious issues to deal with and I have to deal with them alone.

"Oh," he said sadly. "How long?"

"I don't know," I whispered.

"I'll get you the keys to the extra car, you can take it and leave tonight," he said, trying to accommodate my needs. I could tell I was tearing him apart inside and I felt horrible about it. I waited for him to come back, but he never did. The house became silent. After I waited for over an hour, I made my way downstairs. Everyone was gone. There was a pair of keys and a note on my kitchen counter.

_As long as you need, I'll be here waiting._

I was hurting him. I knew he was trying to help me, give me what I needed, but it was, for lack of a better word, killing him. I hoped with all my heart that I could get myself sorted out and back together soon so I could come back to him. I ran back upstairs and packed a bag before grabbing the keys and heading out the door. I didn't know where I was going, or how long I would be gone, but I was on my way somewhere. As I drove past the Forks city limit sign, a single tear ran down my cheek. _I'll come back to you, I promise. I love you._ And then I left my heart there, with him, as I drove out into the night.


	15. Breakdown

I drove aimlessly for hours, not paying attention to road or city signs. I didn't know if I was driving north, south, east, or west. I just needed to drive. I felt so trapped by everything that was going on and everything that happened today, it was just too much. I loved Edward and I wanted to be with him, I was going to be with him. I just need to fix myself first and figure out why I'm so messed up right now.

I drove in silence with no radio, just my thoughts, which were all over the place. It was almost two in the morning, so I decided I should probably pull in to the next town and get a motel. I didn't have a lot of money, so I'd have to go cheap. There was a small motel right off the exit, so I pulled in and walked to the front desk. The sign outside should have said "Overnight Comfort" but instead it said "Vernit Omort" because the lights were out in so many of the letters. There was a truck stop directly behind it, with plenty of semi-trucks parked there. Definitely like a horror movie waiting to happen, but I didn't have time to think about that. I was too tired and I needed to sleep. The door creaked as I slipped inside.

"Hello," called the old woman from behind the desk. "May I help you dear?"

"Umm yes I need a room please," I said, fumbling through my bag for my wallet.

"Okay, I'm assuming you have a car?"

"Yes, I do."

"I'll need the information for it, for parking."

"Oh right…umm hold on I'll have to run out and get it."

I ran back to the car and opened the glove compartment to look for any information she might ask for, like a registration or a proof of insurance. I found them easily, along with a huge wad of cash and a note. "_No shady motels please love." _Ha. I looked back at the front office. There were several truck drivers gathering around the door, gazing over at me and pointing. _Definitely shady. _I locked the doors and started engine, before squealing out of the parking lot.

I drove for another twenty minutes before I saw my saving grace. It was not a five star resort; I didn't need anything that special. But it would definitely not be called shady by any means. I checked in and carried my bag up to my room, where I pretty much collapsed on my bed.

I woke up the next morning, groggy as hell. I rolled over and glanced at the clock. It was 4 p.m.; I'd been sleeping for like 12 hours. My stomach was growling at me, so I picked up the phone and dialed room service. A massive cheeseburger and order of fries later I was full. I lay back on the bed, my thoughts starting back up again. _Should I call him? _I picked up my cell and found Edward's name on the speed dial. I deliberated for a moment before snapping the phone shut. _No, no I should call him. _I opened it back up and hit send. I got his voicemail. He always answers his phone, this was odd.

"Hey it's me. I'm at a hotel in…actually..I don't know exactly where I am, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm okay and I'm not in a shady motel." I giggled a little. My voice grew serious in an instant, when I remembered why I was in this hotel by myself. "Edward I'm so sorry, about how I acted. I don't know what's wrong with me or how to fix it, but I love you more than anything in the world and I'm marrying you when I get back." Tears started forming in my eyes. I missed him so much already, but at the same time knew that I needed to figure this whole thing out before I could be with him again. With an "I love you", I pressed end and sulked back into the pillows.

I must have fallen asleep again, because when I looked at the clock it was 9 a.m. and the sun was visible through the curtains. I made my way over to the window and pulled the curtains back. It was so sunny out. I opened the window a crack and warm air breezed through. My window looked out over a small quaint town, with a single main street running straight down the middle. I saw a sign that said "Used Book Shop," and I smiled. _Just what I need. Some advice from some old friends._

I got dressed quickly and headed down stairs. The main street was a short ten-minute walk from my hotel and the sunshine felt amazing. The air here was crisp and fresh and smelled like baked goods and flowers all mixed together. I bought a few books from the bookstore and some goodies from the local bakery. It was such a nice day out, I decided to take a walk around town, it's not like I had anything else to do. The townspeople were so nice, saying hello as I passed them. It was like everything moved slower here, and I liked it. It was exactly the relaxing atmosphere I needed.

I finally made my way back to the hotel around dinnertime and ordered some more food, indulging in my sweets from the bakery for dessert. My phone started vibrating on the nightstand.

"Edward," I said answering. "I called you before and you didn't answer, I-"

"I know Bella, I was here I just…I didn't want to answer."

"Oh," I said feeling a little dejected. He had ignored my call.

"I'm just trying to understand Bella. I don't know why you won't let me help you."

"You can't help me. I don't even know how to help me. It's just that…something's not clicking with me right now. Danny whacked me all out of sorts yesterday." I winced at my choice of words. I felt so vulnerable so open to hurt, and I didn't know why. How could I let Danny do this to me, to Edward? He was such a lowlife and I was letting his actions get in the way of what I want.

"Okay," Edward said coldly. "Then you take all the time you need and I guess I'll just be here." He was not enthusiastic or tender in his words. He sounded irritated and annoyed.

"Okay. Love you," I said, hoping for some emotion from him.

"Yeah you too," he said. And then he hung up. _Wow._

I set my phone back down and walked into the bathroom. I looked terrible. My hair was all in knots and my face looked pale as a ghost, with the exception of the bluish area that indicated my bruise. I can't believe I went out in public like this. I eyed the huge expanse of whirlpool bathtub behind me.

As the water was filling up, I picked out a book from my purchases and slipped on my iPod. The water felt amazing. I soaked for a good hour, reading and listening to my music. _Why couldn't I be more like the women in these books? They were strong, independent. They would never let someone do what Danny did. I was so weak. _Maybe that was my problem. I felt weak and helpless.

I spent the next few days in my room, eating and sleeping, and eating more. That last night, I sat down in front of the TV and began flipping through the channels. I stopped on this movie starring some lead Hollywood actress. Ironic as it was, her husband beat her. I cringed at the abuse scenes. I don't know why I kept watching it. I guess I was looking for something to help me, something to explain how she dealt with everything. I had an epiphany during the last fight scene in the movie. But it wasn't him beating on her; she was fighting back and defending herself. Maybe I wasn't as helpless and weak as I thought. I did fight back. I didn't let Danny overpower me like he did the first time. I stood up and defended myself. I was just as strong and fearless as the woman in the movie was. That was it, my revelation. I was stronger than I thought I was. After the attack, I felt like I had like this happen to me, like maybe I deserved it because I didn't stop it. But I did stop it. _I_ did. "I'm a strong, kick ass woman," I said to myself. I felt something click inside me and I knew that I was going to be okay. I laughed at the thought. _I have to go, I have to go find Edward, _I thought frantically to myself. I gathered up all my stuff and shoved it in my bag, not bothering to fold my clothes. I ran downstairs, eager to check out.

The drive back felt like it took forever, probably because I was so anxious to see Edward, to tell him that I was going to be okay and that I couldn't wait to marry him. I finally made it back to Forks and pulled into the Cullens driveway. His car wasn't there. I ran inside and Alice was there waiting.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"I don't know Bella, I can see him but I don't know where he is. There's some broken windows, and wind, and….pillows?" She was irritated at the confusion.

I knew exactly where he was.

"Thanks Alice," I sprung up and gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, yeah," she said, slightly more annoyed that I knew more than she did.

I drove so fast, Edward would have been proud of me. The rain started to come down hard, but I didn't care. I pressed my foot down harder.

I saw his car parked outside, and I smiled knowing that I would see him in a few minutes. I parked the car quickly and started towards the door. Locked. I buzzed apartment E-3, they should remember me, I did live right across from them.

"Hello?" said a scruffy voice.

"Hi Mr. Stevens, it's Bella from next door. Well used to be next door. I need to pick something up from the new tenant and they aren't answering. Could you buzz me in, it's pouring out here."

"Oh sure Bella no problem. We sure miss you around here," he said as I heard the buzz. I opened the door without answering him. I literally ran up the five flights of stairs and ran to the window at the end of the hallway. Luckily there was another fire escape right outside it. I opened the window and climbed out. As I ascended the ladder, it reminded me of the last time up here with Edward. It was raining, just like this. I smiled to myself. I almost slipped a few times on the ladder rungs, because I was rushing so much.

I finally made it to the top and glanced in the direction of the greenhouse. There was soft light coming from it, probably a candle. I could see a shape moving slowly, he as pacing. I stopped and just watched him for a moment. If he only knew how much I was in love with him. That it was torture for me to be away from him. I didn't want him to ever think that he did something wrong.

I was tired of waiting so I started running towards the greenhouse, growing more anxious with each step. I was almost there, only a few more steps.

"Wahh," I shrieked as my feet went out from under me. I landed hard on the floor with a thud. _Damn the rain and this slippery roof. I was just about to have an incredibly romantic moment and they ruined it. _

I looked back up at the greenhouse, hoping he hadn't heard my display of clumsiness. The shadow was frozen in its place. _He heard it. _I saw the figure rush to the door and swing it open. There he stood, his mouth slightly open, gaping at the sight in front of him. His face looked pained, worried...and like he hadn't been hunting in awhile.

"Hi," I whispered with a shaky voice. He began to walk towards me, with an undecipherable look on his face.


	16. Kiss the Rain

I stood up, brushing off myself. Edward stood in front of me, not moving.

"Will you please say something?" I asked timidly.

I light snarl ripped through his mouth. He'd never done that to me.

"Edward!"

He looked down at his feet. I walked over to him and put my hand under his chin, lifting his eyes up to meet mine.

"I'm so sorry that I ever made you feel like you couldn't be there for me. You've been the only constant in my life, especially these past few months. I'm here because of you and your love for me. I love you more than anything and I want you more than anything in the world."

I felt his hands grab onto my shoulders as he whipped me around and pressed me against the outside of the greenhouse. This side of him should have scared me, but it didn't. The intensity in his eyes was unlike I've ever seen it. I didn't know why, if it was because he was hungry or something else. He brought his hand up to my throat and gently traced down my neck, bringing his finger down the middle of my chest and down to my hips. His other hand met there as he took a firm grasp of my waist. The electricity between us was so alive, so on fire. I closed my eyes at his touch as I felt him move closer to me, fully trapping me between him and the wall.

When I opened my eyes again, his face was close to mine, so close that I could feel his cold breath on my face.

"More than _anything,_" I whispered to him, running my fingers through his drenched hair. I cupped my hand around the back of his head and brought his face to mine. This kiss was so much more rough and animalistic than usual. I felt like every nerve in my body came alive. I could feel an electric shock in every place Edward's body touched mine. I pulled him closer to me, as if that was even possible. Another snarl ripped from his throat. I finally realized it wasn't an angry snarl, it was a hunger snarl and not necessarily for food. He was hungering for _me._ I felt like I was his nicotine that he'd gone for days without. I nuzzled into the crook of his neck, breathing him in. My lips skimmed lightly over the skin on his shoulder. He followed my lead and brought his mouth to my neck.

I took some of his skin lightly in my mouth and bit down playfully. I snuck a peak at Edward from the corner of my eye. He looked conflicted as to what to do next.

"Do it," I said forcefully.

He shook his head a little against my shoulder. I stretched my neck up, giving him more access.

"Edward….do it." I reached my hands up and pulled my hair out of the way. My neck was fully exposed now. I felt his eyes rake over my creamy bare neck, contemplating. He pulled his face back and met my gaze. His eyes were full of fire and thirst. His hands caressed down my uncovered skin. My hands reached up to the neckline of my shirt and grabbed a hold of it firmly. I pulled hard, hearing my shirt rip. When I dropped my hand, my shirt was left with a tear halfway down the front of it, exposing my shoulder and chest.

"I want you to do it." I said slowly, staring intently into his eyes. I leaned my neck closer to him again. He moved his lips down to it, and planted a kiss there. I heard a growl escape from his lips, then felt his teeth sink into my neck. I gasped at the feeling. I'd never felt so much pain before in my life. I had never felt so much…_pleasure_ in my life. I didn't know it was possible to feel this amount of pleasure and pain at the same time. I arched my back to get closer to him. I could feel an intense burning starting to advance through my body. It was him. His venom. I'd never felt so close to him. Another sigh came from my mouth. I was amazed I was so silent, with the searing pain roaring through my veins. I could feel the cold rain pulsating on my skin as Edward sunk his teeth deeper into me. I felt my body go slightly limp from the bliss that he was giving me.

"I love you," I whispered, turning my mouth to his ear. I nibbled lightly on it as another snarl came from his chest. I felt him pick me up and swing open the door. He slammed me forcefully against the wall inside. He finally brought his face back from my neck. His lips were crimson with blood, my blood. My lips involuntarily lunged forward, meeting his. I could taste my blood mixed with him. My tongue traced the outside of his lips.

I could feel his hands gripping at my clothes, tearing them to shreds. I clawed at his as well. His hand slammed against the wall beside my head, surely leaving a dent or maybe he broke right through it. I wasn't paying much attention. He held me up with his other arm, bracing me against the wall. There was a warm trickle making its way down my neck. Before I could look down and see the blood, Edward brought his mouth to it licking all the way up to the wound that it was coming from. He bit into it again, sending more pulsating fire into my veins. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself up enveloping my legs around his waist. He slammed me harder against the wall. I could feel the indent of my body in the metal.

He swiftly picked me up and carried me over to the hammock, lying down below me. I ran my hands down his bare chest, before diving down to kiss his neck. The fire was still smoldering in my body, but it felt better with Edward's cool skin underneath me. Fire and ice, both at the same time.

His hands grasped tightly on my hips as he gently positioned himself above me. He kissed down my jaw line, moving down to my bellybutton, and down to my thighs, and down to the very tips of my toes before running his tongue all the way back up. He pulled back to face me. His eyes looked a little concerned for the pain I may be going through, but I shook my head and smiled, reassuring him that I was okay. I felt him move above me, bringing our bodies closer. He collapsed on top of me, careful to shift his weight so he wouldn't crush me. My eyes rolled back in my head as I drifted off into darkness, with a perfect balance of sting and satisfaction.

I don't know how long I was out. I didn't know what time it was or even what day it was. I couldn't move my body, but I could hear. Edward was on his phone.

"I shouldn't have done that, Carlisle, it was very irresponsible. But she was practically begging me and…I was weak."

I didn't want him to feel bad about what he'd done. I truly did want it. And I still do, even with the pain still apparent in my body. It was just a dull aching now, but it was still there.

"She's been out for 26 hours…yeah."

I tried desperately to open my eyes, to tell him that I was okay. That I was better than okay. This was what I've been wanting ever since I'd met him. We were going to be together forever.

I willed my mouth to move, and surprisingly I could speak very quietly.

"Stop worrying silly," I whispered.

"Carlisle I have to go, she just said something…yeah I'll call you in a bit." I felt a pair of hands on my face, but they weren't cool like before. They just felt…normal.

"Bella?" Edward said.

"I'm fine," I managed to get out. I was still wishing I could open my eyes, but I wasn't hurting too bad.

"Are you sure? Did I hurt you too badly?"

"Edward, I'm fine. It's what I wanted, so just let it take its course."

He got up and started pacing. I could tell because his footsteps kept getting softer and louder. Back and forth, back and forth. I wish I could comfort him, make him see that I'm fine. He sat back down next to me, taking my hand in his and rubbing comforting circles on my palm. We sat for a long time, just waiting for my body to wake up a little more. I could slowly sense the feeling coming back to my limbs, starting from my fingers and toes and working its way closer to my heart. As soon as I felt the heaviness leave my eyes I tried to open them. I felt them flutter before they completely opened, exposing my eyes to a brand new world.


	17. Hot Girl in a Good Mood

I knew I was still in the greenhouse; everything was still there, still the same, but at the same time different. Everything was sharper and clearer. The blues were bluer, reds were redder, all the colors more vibrant. I felt my hand reach to my side, feeling for his.

"I'm here." I felt him grab my hand and intertwine our fingers before resting it back on the ground.

"I think I'm going to try and get up," I said. I was taken back by the sound of my voice. It was still me, but it was beautiful, like wind chimes. So smooth and clear.

I felt Edward shift beside me and he brought both of his hands up to my shoulders and guided me up.

"How do I look?" I said, patting my hands over myself, through my hair and down my body. I noticed my hands were drastically pale, paler than they had been before. They practically glowed in the shine of the moon. It was dark outside, but Edward had lit a few candles inside. I could see all the colors of the flame, from yellow to orange to red. I could hear the drip of the wax as it melted. I could practically feel the flame burning. Or maybe it was my throat.

I brought my hands up to my neck in a panic.

"It's okay love, you're just thirsty." Edward strolled over to sit next to me. He was very cautious in his actions, but I didn't know why. "Carlisle is bringing up some blood from the hospital to tide you over until we can get back home. I don't want to have to subject you to humans while you're this thirsty."

Now that I was aware that the burning was my intense desire for blood, I began to smell an array of new smells. Doves, squirrels, dogs, cats….then one that I knew was human. On the floor below us. I could feel their heartbeat. Each tick called out to me like a five course meal to a starving person. _No, no. No humans. I am a vegetarian._ And just like that, the desire was gone. There burning in my throat definitely didn't go away, but with a brisk "no" I had turned off the human radar.

_Was it really that easy?_

"Is what that easy?" Edward asked, bringing his hand up to my face.

"I turned it off." I said smugly.

"You turned what off?" He was utterly confused.

"I smell them Edward. The humans below us. And I just told myself no and that was that. No problem."

He looked flabbergasted. "Uh, I..how..did…?"

The door burst open and I instinctively shot straight into a defensive crouch, a snarl ripping through my chest. _Oooh, that felt kinda cool._ I relaxed instantly when I realized it was Carlisle.

"I've got the blood!" He announced.

"I've got the clothes!" Alice piped in, smilingly widely as she entered behind him. She was carrying some garment bags that looked absolutely terrifying.

The rest of the Cullens made their way into the little greenhouse.

"Wow Bella, you sure did turn out well." Alice smiled.

"Uh…" I realized I hadn't even seen myself yet. I was suddenly bursting with excitement. I was going to be perfection. A goddess. Breathtakingly beautiful. I was never a vain person, but I felt incredibly ordinary and plain, especially with Edward.

My eyes searched the room, desperate to find a mirror, or anything that was even remotely close to a mirror.

Alice turned to Rosalie, who again looked annoyed to be around me. _Bitch. _

"Bring it in Rose," Alice said excitedly.

Rose let out a large sigh and disappeared from sight, only to be back instantly carrying a long mirror.

The girl in the mirror was tall and slender. Glossy chocolate hair running down her back. Her perfect complexion was pale and beautiful.

"Whoa." I said appraising myself. "I'm…beautiful."

Edward pulled my hair to one side so he could whisper in my ear.

"I've always thought you were beautiful love."

I smiled widely, exposing my shiny teeth. I leaned closer to inspect them, half expecting to see fangs popping out somewhere. That was silly, I knew we didn't have actual fangs.

Examining my face closer in the mirror, I finally noticed my eyes. They were red, bright red. And they scared me. I saw them get wide before I shuddered back from the mirror.

"It's okay Bella, you're just thirsty. Here…" Carlisle handed me a pouch full of dark, thick liquid.

I took it and slowly brought it to my lips. I looked puzzled as to how I was supposed to drink out of this. Emmett stuck his hand out, with straw in hand, and punctured the bag before sticking the straw inside. A melodic laugh escaped my lips. They all stared at me, confused by my sudden fit of humor.

"What?..." I said still laughing. "It looks like a Capri Sun or something."

Emmett cleared his throat.

"Oh right, you guys have never had those." I brought my lips to the straw and sucked. The warm liquid filled my mouth. It was creamy, smooth, and pretty tasty actually. I swallowed before gulping the rest of the pouch in one go.

"So what do we do now? Let's go do something." I said nonchalantly.

They gaped at me.

"Carlisle, how is she taking this so well?" Edward turned towards his father. "I mean she seems….normal."

"I don't know Edward. She is handling it incredibly well."

Carlisle turned towards me.

"Bella, how was the transformation, was it incredibly painful?"

I saw Edward wince. I didn't want him feeling bad for what he'd done. And amazingly it wasn't as bad as I thought.

"Actually Carlisle it was fine, I think the distraction may have helped…" I mused.

Carlisle looked at Edward and then back to me.

"What distraction…did you discover a new method?" He asked excitedly.

Alice coughed, a little too deliberately. _That's embarrassing._

Emmett's howl of laughter was the next thing I heard. I felt the anger rising up in me, or maybe this is what the venom felt like. He was standing right next to me I could easily lunge at him. I settled for an elbow the rib instead.

"Shut up Emmett!" I said whipping my arm into him. He crashed to the floor and his laughing ceased, but was quickly replaced by Edward's.

"Ouch," he said rubbing the spot of impact.

"Ha." I stuck my tongue out at him. "Mess with the bull you'll get the horns."

That made everyone laugh.

"So let's get out of here, I wanna go explore. It's like a whole new world to me."

The laughing stopped and Edward looked cautiously at Carlisle. He cocked his head to one side.

"She is doing remarkably well Edward. I think it might be alright. Just keep an eye on her." Carlisle nodded giving his approval.

"Yes!" I squealed.

"Hold on!" Alice put her hand up. "You are not going out like that. You're representing us now, you've got to look good."

I looked down, appraising my clothes. I had to agree, I looked pretty lame with the boring old tee shirt and jeans, but she didn't have to be so harsh.

"Boys…out!" She pointed to the door. The determination in her voice scared me. I looked to Edward for help, but he just smiled.

"I'll be right outside." He winked at me as he closed the door behind him.

An hour, at least 30 outfits, and 15 makeup redos later, apparently I was ready. I wasn't going to lie to myself, Alice did good work. I looked amazing. She had decided on a gray sweater dress that was very fitting. The deep V-neck was a little too low for my taste, but I wasn't allowed to protest. I told her I was blaming her if I pulled a Janet Jackson. She finished off the look with a wide black belt and matching tights. She slid the knee-high boots onto my feet effortlessly.

"Alice you do know I'm going out….and not to a club or bar?"

"Hey they're flats! It's doable." She adjusted the belt on my waist. "There all done." Rose even smiled a bit.

The both walked back towards the door, appraising the full view of their work. Alice flung open the door and announced my completion.

"Introducing…" she said as her arm motioned towards me, "The new and improved Miss Isabella Marie Swan!" She started jumping up and down and clapping.

The boys trailed in, followed by Esme. They all stopped dead in their tracks. I saw Emmett's eyes get wide. Rosalie growled at him. Jasper brought his hand to his open mouth. Alice flicked his shoulder. Carlisle stifled a choke, before receiving a glare from Esme. I saved Edward for last.

"Everyone out!" He yelled, not breaking my gaze. Everyone obeyed, quickly shuffling out the door. He was over to me in an instant, kissing up and down my neck.

"You. Look. Incredible."

I felt his hands running down my body. He stopped at the hem of my dress and started to pull it up.

"Edward." I put my hand over his, pushing it back down. "It took Alice an hour to decide on this outfit, I don't want to be taking it off just yet."

He snarled, but it wasn't an angry snarl. It was one of excitement. And it was incredibly sexy. I quickly brought his lips to mine, crushing them roughly together. His hands drifted back down to my skirt, where he slipped under and started working his way up.

"No, no, no…later," I whispered.

"Remind me to beat on Jazz and Emmett later, they had no business ogling their future sister-in-law like that." He brought his lips to my ear. "I want you so bad."

I shuddered as his hand softly reached up to my cheek, slowly moving down my neck and down my chest. I let out a giggle.

I heard Carlisle clear his throat outside. Emmett laughed. Alice tapped her foot.

"We have to go," I said, moving past Edward.

I walked out of the greenhouse to the annoyed stares of his family. They were looking accusingly at Edward.

"What?! I mean…look at her!," he said defensively.

"So Bella, where would you like to go?" Esme asked, breaking the awkward silence that followed.

I looked around at the city. It was a great view from up here. The city lights sparkled brightly against the night sky.

"Everywhere," I said while I spinned around in amazement.

"Edward, you could teach her how to jump. It'd be easy with all the buildings bunched together." Jasper pointed to all the roofs close by.

"Yeah that's a good idea. I mean…you guys don't have to stay. That's something I can do…alone." I could tell Edward was hinting at them to leave. I smiled at him.

They took the hint and bid us goodbye before making their way down the fire escape.

"Okay," Edward started as soon as they were gone. "It's pretty easy, you just kinda…fling yourself." He demonstrated, "flinging" himself across the small gap to the next building. "See?"

I gulped as I stepped up to the edge. That gap was looking bigger and bigger by the second. What's the worst that could happen? I'd miss. I looked down at the huge dumpster in the alley below. There was enough trash in there to break my fall.

"You wouldn't need it now," Edward said, as if he actually were reading my thoughts.

I looked at him suspiciously. _Maybe this was a bad idea, the whole jumping thing. _My eyes went back and forth between my roof and the roof that Edward was now perched on.

"Come on," he urged. "1…2….3!" I stood perfectly still.

"Bella…" he lifted a hand to his collar and opened his top button. "You're going to have to do this at some point so why not now? And plus, I'm not coming back over there until you do." His hand slid down his shirt, undoing each button. I could see the sliver of his chest and stomach.

"What…what if I fall Edward?" I was losing concentration staring at his perfect body.

"You aren't going to fall," he said slipping out of his shirt. The moonlight illuminated the muscles in his arms, back, chest, abs…everywhere. I licked my lips.

"I guess I'll just have to stay over here by myself," he reached slowly for his pants.

_Screw this._

I launched myself forward and it was surprisingly easier than I thought, especially with my…motivation.

"Very good," he said pulling me to him. "Now do you need to practice more or can we just not and say we did?" He brought his face close to mine.

"I don't know what you're talking about. We practiced. All night." I flashed him a seductive smile.

We had been "practicing" on the rooftop for about an hour when we heard footsteps. They were making their way up the staircase that led to the roof, reserved for management. Edward pulled me into the shadows.

A flashlight beamed out across the roof.

"They said it sounded like a large animal up here…" the security guard mentioned to the other one. "Maybe injured, or…rabid. The tenant in 7-C said he heard grunting and whimpering."

I covered my mouth to hold in my laughter. Edward was holding it in too, shushing me but pulling his finger up to his lips.

The security guards bent down and picked up something off the ground. He held up what was left of my tights. They were shredded so much, any other person wouldn't have known what they were.

"Maybe they got caught in this here netting, look at it, it's all ripped up."

I shook with silent laughter.

"Hmm…" The other guard flashed his light one more time across the roof. "Well it seems like they're gone now."

They both turned and went back to the stairs. As soon as the door closed, both of us burst out in laughter.

"I hope Alice didn't want those tights back, poor guys were absolutely baffled," I said once my laughing quieted.

He looked at me in amazement.

"That didn't even bother you did it…having them so close?" He looked into my eyes.

"No not at all. Easy."

"You didn't feel the burning at all…nothing?"

"Well I wouldn't say I felt nothing, but it was manageable."

I pulled him close to me.

"We should probably migrate to another roof, we wouldn't want to scare anymore people with our animalistic tendencies." I jumped over to the next roof and waited patiently for him to join me. He was there in an instant.

"With how loud you were being love, we might have to leave the city." He laughed as he pulled me to him, starting where we left off before we were so rudely interrupted.


	18. Good Day

We returned back to the greenhouse an hour before dawn broke and started back to Forks. I was anxious to go running in the forest, really be free. The trees rushing past me, the wind whipping my hair back. It sounded like a good day.

"Hey you two," Esme called as we walked in the house. "Did you have a good time last night?"

I heard a snicker from behind me, but it wasn't Emmett. Alice covered her mouth and flitted up the stairs. I realized I was going to have to get over Alice "foreseeing" pretty much every detail in my life, no matter how embarrassing. Better her than Emmett.

I smiled and turned to Edward.

"Can we go running now….please?" I was whining like a little girl in a candy shop.

"Oh why not." Edward kissed the top of my head. He smiled his crooked smile. I returned the gesture, enthusiastic at my newfound persuasion abilities.

"So," I began once we entered the back yard. "Is this a just go type thing like jumping or are there any special tips I need?"

"Definitely a just go type thing." Edward gestured out to the forest, motioning for me to…just go.

I took off running towards the trees, laughing at how easy it was. It wasn't a blur like I thought it would be. I could see everything perfectly. Every tree, every branch, every leaf, every vein on the leaf. It was one of the most exhilarating things I've ever felt in my life.

I looked around in a panic, realizing I had left Edward in my dust. I laughed when I saw he was there, running beside me. He pointed to the right before turning and taking off in the same direction. I followed him, anxiously awaiting where he was taking me. We ran for another ten minutes before things started to look familiar. I knew exactly where we were going. The grin on my face spread wider and I quickened my pace to beat him there.

I stepped into the meadow a full minute before Edward. It was more beautiful than I remembered it, probably because I had more than perfect vision. The flowers were brighter, the grass was greener. Everything smelled a million times more potent than the last time. I stood still, breathing it all in. Edward approached silently behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Geez you old fart what took you so long?" I turned my face up to his. He bent down and gave me a kiss.

"Well, we can't all have newborn speed and strength." He pretended to wipe some sweat off his forehead.

Edward sat down in a particularly fluffy patch of grass, patting the spot next to him.

"Saved you a seat," he said with a smile.

"Why thank you." The grass felt soft beneath me and I began absentmindedly running my fingers through it. I closed my eyes and leaned back, resting my head on my forearm. I felt Edward shift beside me, and in a moment his arm replaced mine as my pillow. I nuzzled into his chest, inhaling his smell.

"What are you doing?," he said laughing and lifting his head to look at me.

"It's like a whole new world of smells, I want to fully appreciate them."

A beam of sunshine broke through the clouds and landed a few inches away from my hand. I stuck my hand out into the light, admiring my diamond-like skin before bringing it back into the shade. I continued this pattern for the next ten minutes, completely intrigued by the change in my new skin.

"You're pretty entertaining, did you know that?" Edward rolled on top of me and kissed my collarbone.

My eyes got wide, a little embarrassed that he had been watching my child-like play. "It's just, so different you know; seeing it and actually experiencing it. It's amazing." I smiled, sticking my hand back out into the sunlight.

Edward rolled us gently over, until we were fully bathed in sunlight. He remained on top of me and acted as a barrier between me and the blinding sun. A subtle sparkle outlined his exposed skin. He looked like an angel, a halo around his head.

We spent the rest of the day in the meadow, experimenting with the sunlight.

"Are you ready to go, I want to check back with everyone?" Edward started to get up and pulled me to my feet.

"Actually I'll meet you back at the house soon, if that's okay. I kinda wanted to run a little more."

"No that's completely fine. You'll be able to find your way back?"

"I'll just follow your scent." I ran up to kiss him before he took off into the woods.

I ran for an hour, just enjoying the forest rushing past me. I froze when I heard a noise to my left, behind some dense brush. I crept quietly towards the noise when the smell hit my nose. Cologne and aftershave. It was a human. I held my breath and inched closer. Two men stood in bright orange vests carrying shotguns. Hunters. The burning in my throat grew stronger, almost urging me on. _No,_ I told myself. _No humans._

I closed my eyes and turned around, running away from my potential prey. _See, That wasn't so hard._ I smiled, proud of my accomplishment. I could see the house in the distance and I hurried towards it.

I heard them before I could see them.

"Alice, I just don't think it's the best time, it can wait." Edward sounded slightly annoyed. I could tell it wasn't anything serious, but he obviously was objecting to something.

"What can wait?" I said walking in the door.

"Oh it's nothing," Edward said rushing over to me. He kissed me on the cheek before turning back to Alice.

"No Edward, what is it?" He knew by the tone in my voice that I wasn't going to let up until he told me.

"Well…" He began.

"It's the wedding Bella." Alice interrupted, looking like she was ready to burst. "I'd had it scheduled for this week, but Edward doesn't think you're up to being around anyone yet."

"I just don't want to push you love," he said wrapping an arm around my waist and giving a reassuring squeeze.

"Oh please Edward, I can totally do this. I just ran into a couple of hunters out in the woods…" I heard them hold their breath.

"Ha! I win! I knew she wouldn't have a clean record!" Emmett started laughing from the other room.

"You didn't win anything yet Emmett…" I looked up at Edward. "I just…ran away." His whole face brightened up.

"You never cease to amaze me." He brought his hand up to caress my face. "Are you sure…about the wedding? It can wait, we don't have to do it now."

"I'm most definitely sure."

"Bella answer your phone," Alice uttered quickly.

"Alice my phone isn't even ring-" I was interrupted by my phone vibrating in my pocket.

I shot her an annoyed look before digging it out. _Jacob. What was I going to tell him, what was I going to say?_

"Hey Jake."

"Bells! Where have you been the past few days, I stopped by your house and it looked like your newspapers were starting to pile up. I got worried."

Edward and Alice left the room, probably to give me some privacy.

"Umm I was out of town for a couple of days, sorry Jake I should have told you." He had been pretty overprotective since the attack; calling and stopping by sometimes multiple times a day.

"You sound better, Bells. It's good to hear it."

"Yeah…it's like a brand new me I guess." I laughed at my joke.

"Well can I come see you, I miss you."

"Ummm…I…" Edward peeked around the corner and nodded his head in approval. It was nice knowing that he believed and trusted in me not to kill my best friend. "Yeah sure." I answered more confidently.

"Great! Are you at home or are you at the Cullen's?"

"I'm at the Cullen's…um Jake before you get here I have to warn you I might…look a little different to you."

"What did Alice perform another makeover?"

"No." I didn't know why, but I was terrified to tell him. "Edward did." I heard the click on the other end and the line went dead. He definitely understood my subtle hint. I hoped this didn't end ugly. I knew Jacob wasn't too keen on me becoming immortal.

I brought the phone down hesitantly.

"How's Jacob?" Edward asked, reentering the room.

"I don't know I'll have to see when he gets here." I let out a nervous laugh.

Edward draped his arms around my shoulders and led me to the living room. "This should be interesting."

I fidgeted nervously for the next ten minutes, expecting Jacob to burst through the door and start the next Inquisition. He was taking longer than I predicted. I kept sneaking peaks at the door.

"He's been out there for awhile, he's just preparing himself." Edward said tightening his grip on me. "Maybe you should go out there."

I looked up at him frantic. "Do you think I'll be okay? I mean…you know?"

"Bella, I've never heard of a newborn simply running away from perfectly attainable human blood, you'll be more than okay."

I got up off the couch and walked slowly to the door. I stood on my tiptoes, peeking out the window at the top of the door. Jake was pacing back and forth on the front porch, his hands waving animatedly. He was muttering to himself. _Take a pill, Jacob. _I laughed to myself, watching him for the next few minutes. He finally took a seat on the steps. _I guess that's my cue._

I opened the door slowly and inched out. Jake buried his face in his hands as I sat next to him.

"Oh geez." I could hear the annoyance in his voice as he muttered a few more expletives.

We sat in silence for a minute or two. I was getting so anxious; I could just feel the word vomit making its way up.

"Jake I'm so sorry I didn't warn you. I didn't even really know it was going to happen so soon, it just did. And I'm still me, I'm still your best friend…" He raised his hand, cutting me off. That hurt. Was he really that mad at me? If I were still human at this point, the tears would start to gather in my eyes. Instead I felt this strange prickly feeling.

"Bella relax. I'm not mad at you. You just….smell. Really bad." He looked up at me, cracking a slight smile.

"Yeah well what you'd bathe in, a trash dumpster?" I was slightly offended and it was the best comeback I could muster.

Jacob laughed at my serious face and lame rebuttal.

"He didn't tell you did he?" His laughter turned into full belly laughs.

"Tell me what?" I was so confused.

"Vampires and werewolves, we're especially sensitive to each other's smells."

"Oh." I said finally understanding. "I was seriously starting to question your hygiene." I had to join him in his laughter. His face turned serious again.

"Take a walk with me." I offered him my hand. He took it and we started strolling towards the woods. His skin felt like flame in my hand, but it was worth it.

"So…are you okay? Are you hurting?" He had a looked of overwhelming concern in his eyes.

"I'm okay now. I won't lie it wasn't the most…pleasant experience, but I pulled through. I always do." I gave his hand a slight squeeze.

"And you're happy?"

"Never been more happy in my life."

"That's all that matters then…even if you are a bloodsucker now." I took his sarcasm as a hint that he was going to be okay with this.

We walked further into the woods, my drifting through all the recent events. It reminded me of something I've been meaning to ask him.

"Jake, can I talk to you about something?" I stopped and turned towards him.

"Yeah sure."

This seemed like the easy part compared to the "hey I'm a vampire now" part but I was still nervous, so I just spit it out.

"Edward and I are getting married…this week."

"Are you sure you're ready for that kind of commitment?" His face was totally serious.

"Are you kidding me right now?" I had just been bound to Edward eternally and now Jacob was questioning whether matrimony was too serious.

"Yes I am." He laughed at my gullibility.

"Phew. Because that's only just part of what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Okay well spit it out, Bells."

"Growing up, I was never the girl who dreamed about her wedding day, pretty much because my mom seemed so against marriage after her disaster with Charlie. But I still always hoped that it would happen for me someday. That I would meet an amazing guy and spend my life with him. And that's finally happened." I smiled at the thought.

"I know that Edward and I have had our differences in the past, but I know that you love him and he loves you so much. And I'm truly happy for you both." He smiled a genuine smile.

I could feel the prickly feeling returning to my eyes.

"Yeah thanks." My voice broke, revealing my emotions.

"Bells, what is it? What's wrong?" Jacob held my face in his hands.

"It's just….there's one thing I'm not going to get to have at my wedding that I would give anything to have."

"Well what is it? I'll make it happen."

"No, no you can't. I love you for saying that, but you can't make it happen."

He looked at me very confused.

"My dad." I answered the question in his eyes. "I never dreamed that my Dad wouldn't be here to walk me down the aisle."

"Oh." He looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry." I tried to pull myself together.

"Jake I know you can't bring my Dad back, but will you do something else for me?"

"Yeah anything. Bells, you know I'd do anything for you."

I took his hand again.

"Jake you are my best friend in the entire universe. You've been like a brother to me and I'm so lucky to have you in my life….And I would be honored if you would walk me down the aisle and give me away." I looked down at the ground. "I mean it's okay if you don't want-." I was cut off by an enormous Jacob hug.

"Of course I will. I mean…I wish it could be your Dad, but nothing would make me happier than that."

"I know he'd approve Jake. If he could pick anyone to take his place, I know it'd be you."

Jacob held me for a few minutes, my feet about a foot and a half off the ground, before gently placing me back on my feet.

"We should probably get back, they probably think you ate me or something."

I laughed. "Well it is a long walk back, maybe I'll need a snack for the road."

He slung his arm around me and we headed back towards the Cullen house, where Alice was sure to be in full wedding mode.


	19. Just Dance

I've come to the conclusion that I hate the word surprise. Esepecially when the words Alice and wedding are associated with it. "Alice where is it?" _Surprise. _"Hey Alice what's my dress look like?" _Surprise. _"Who's coming?" _Surprise, surprise, surprise. _ Pretty much the only thing that wasn't a surprise was the groom. Edward laughed as I finished my rant. He ran his fingers through my hair, instantly calming me down.

Alice popped her head in the door.

"It's time to go," she squeaked. And then she was gone again.

"It's time?!" I whipped towards Edward. "Now?!"

"Well not technically." He smiled at me. "Technically the wedding is tomorrow, but technically we are leaving for the said location tonight. Because Alice wants us to technically have a bachelor/bachelorette party."

My eyes widened as I added bachelorette party into the Alice bubble of events.

"Don't worry love, I told her it had to be a joint venture or we were out."

I instantly relaxed. He knew me all too well.

"Can you tell me where we're going?"

"Technically no."

I crossed my arms and let out a sigh. I hated being out of the loop.

"She's going to dress me for the party isn't she?"

"Oh yeah." Edward placed a kiss on my forehead.

I could have whined, but that wouldn't help the situation. A light snarl ripped from Edward's chest.

"What was that for?"

"Well, based on what she's planning to dress you in…we may not make it to our own party." He winked.

A few hours later we were on our way. Alice insisted that I be blindfolded but I adamantly refused, arguing that if I knew the place it wouldn't make a difference. We drove in three separate cars. Jasper drove Alice, Edward and I. Edward was sprawled across the backseat with his head in my lap while I ran my fingers through his hair. Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie were in the car behind us, followed closely by Jacob, Seth and Mary Ann. Sue was watching the baby for the night before coming to the wedding tomorrow.

I recognized our destination as soon as the familiar buildings started to pass by. We were back in Seattle. Jasper pulled into the nicest hotel in town, of course. We all got our own rooms, all paid for by Carlisle. Alice kept all the wedding stuff in her room so I couldn't sneak a peek.

Once Edward and I unpacked our stuff, I was instructed by him that I was to take a shower so I'd be ready for Alice. I quickly instructed him that he better join me, I wouldn't have a smelly vampire at my bachelorette party. The water was so hot that steam filled the bathroom, fogging up the mirror.

"Bella!" It was Alice. I didn't even hear her come in. I must have been….occupied.

"Hold on Alice, we'll..I'll be right out."

"Geez can't you guys hold off play time till later, I have work to do."

I walked out fo the bathroom in a fluffy white robe, followed by Edward who wore nothing but a towel. Alice seemed unphased flipping idly through a magazine. She pulled on my arm, dragging me out of the room.

"9 p.m. in the lobby Edward…don't be late." She flashed him a scowl.

"Woah I'm scared." He started appraising himself in the mirror. She stuck out her tongue at him and closed the door behind her.

After 3 grueling hours Alice was finished with me. She put me in this ridiculous red dress that should be deemed illegal. My hair had been rolled in hot curlers and was now at big country hair status. Alice opted for a smoky eye and a bold lip. My lipstick was red..like blood, which I thought was humorous.

"Alice I feel utterly bizarre!" I mean I did look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside I was still me and just seeing the dress on the hanger made me quiver. "Am I ready?" I said annoyed. "Can we go now?" I was anxious to be with Edward.

"Wait!" Alice was digging through her bag. She pulled out a box with the words Steve Madden gracing the outside. _Shoes._ The sight of the box terrified me. I cringed as I remembered those skyscrapers she'd put me in for Prom. These were even worse. Before I had time to protest, Alice was attaching the strappy red stiletto heels to my feet. Hopefully my newfound balance would help me out in this department.

"Okay let's go!" I started, very slowly, towards the door.

"Wait!"

I growled.

"What! Is it now?"

"Purse!"

I felt like she was like the annoying little sister helping me get ready for the big dance or something. She was ready in 2 minutes flat and we were headed out the door. Jasper had decided to get ready in our room, since the thought of three hours of gossip, hairspray, and girly things frightened him.

I stared down at my watch and tapped my foot as we descended in the elevator.

"We could have taken the stairs and been there by now Alice."

"Yeah but you need a dramatic entrance, service stairs are not dramatic. Just imagine, the elevator doors whip open and you walk out in slow motion with the wind blowing in your hair."

"Alice we're inside."

"It was just theoretical Bella."

"Well if it's just theoretical then I guess I can just swap these shoes out for sneakers and this dress out for jeans and t-shirt."

"It's not that theoretical."

The doors slowly opened.

"And besides, you wouldn't want to miss him looking at you like that."

I had to smile at that. Edward look more in awe than the first time Alice gave me my post-vamp makeover. Him and Jasper were perched in the lounge, sipping on some drink which he started to choke on when I stepped out of the elevator. The rest of the group was sitting patiently in the lobby area.

Jacob eyed me suspiciously.

"Bow chicka wow wow," he called out sarcastically as I walked by.

"Geez Jacob, wouldn't it just be bow wow for you?" I didn't even cast a look in his direction, my target was straight ahead of me in khaki pants and a blue striped shirt.

"I'll just uh…go see Alice." Jasper quickly got up from his seat and made a b-line towards his other half.

I hopped up onto Edward's lap and snuggled into his chest.

"Look what she did to me," I said pouting.

"Oh trust me…I'm looking." That made me laugh. His hand grasped onto my calf and slowly inched its way up to rest on my upper thigh.

"Alright you two," Esme called from the couch. "Time to go."

I started to get up but Edward scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the car.

"Are you supposed to do that after the wedding?" I whispered into his ear.

"Since when are we the conventional couple?"

We drove to a pretty large bar that I'd never been to before. It had a club type atmostphere, which is probably why Alice picked it. She immediately ordered us a round a shots, which we all took like champs. I couldn't even taste the alcohol. I could see why it took longer for vampires to get drunk. Seven shots later Alice pulled us all onto the dance floor. I hated dancing, but it was actually kind of fun with everyone. Emmett did the robot while Carlisle and Esme did a serious dramatic tango. Rosalie and Alice moved to the music perfectly, while Jasper and Edward did a snap filled two step. Jacob and Mary Ann were in their own little world and Seth was hitting on some young girl at the bar. He struck out miserably.

"I'm gonna take a break," I called to Edward, who was laughing hysterically as Jasper, Emmett and him broke out into various disco moves. I felt like I was viewing the live version of Saturday Night Fever. It was even worse when the DJ realized what they were doing and preceeded to play "Staying Alive."

I slumped down next to Seth.

"No luck huh?"

"Nope, she totally stuck me down. It's okay though. I've got my sights set on another." I followed his eyes to a woman with sandy colored hair with her back to us.

"Well," I started. "Go for it big guy!"

He tugged at his shirt and adjusted his belt before stalking over. This endevor seemed to be going better.

I sat for a few minutes, enjoying the entertainment out on the dance floor when I had a crazy moment of déjà vu.

"Hi there."

I knew that tone of voice, I knew what that "Hi There" meant. Not that it wasn't expecting with Alice dressing me like a street walker.

I felt Edward's eyes on me, very protective. I shook my head at him, answering his question. I could deal with this now.

I turned to the pimply faced frat boy sitting next to me. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Listen buddy, you're not my type and even if you were..trust me..you don't want to get involved with me. I have way more baggage than your little brain is ready to deal with. Besides I'm taken." I glanced lovingly out at the dance floor where Edward had restarted his embarrassing dance routine.

"Which one?" The man asked.

"The one doing the breakdancing."

"Ha! I see you're wearing a ring…you wanna have one last hoorah before you're tied down to _him."_

I glanced back at Edward, who was now doing the worm while Emmett cheered on. I leaned in towards the man, close to his ear.

"Nope," I whispered seductively. It took him a minute to register what I'd said, probably because the tone and the message were so different. I hopped lightly off my stool and pranced back onto the dance floor as Madonna came over the speakers.

"Come on Bella! Dance!" Emmett was jumping around.

I laughed and started "vogue-ing" to the best of my ability.

The next song turned slow as I saw Alice slip the DJ a fifty.

"Thank you," I mouthed to her as she wrapped Jasper up in her arms.

I pulled Edward close to me.

"So," he whispered. "It was a no go with that other guy?"

"Nah..I like my men cold, dead and sparkling."

"Good thing I fit the criteria."

"Edward you don't fit the criteria, you are the criteria."

I traced his jawline with my finger before settling on his lips. He kissed my finger and then my cheek. I could feel my admirer's eyes on our back.

"I think that man is extremely jealous of me right now."

"He's not jealous, he's drunk."

"Trust me…every man in this room is drunk and jealous. I can read their minds remember, no matter how wasted they are."

He pulled me close and started kissing on my neck. This was different. We were never _this _affectionate in public.

"What are you doing?" I said.

He dragged his tongue lightly over my skin.

"I kind of like being the envy of every man in the room. If you weren't sexy enough already, it upped the sexy factor. Big time. You're a hot commodity apparently."

"That may be true, but I'm your hot commodity." I held up my left hand, showing off my engagement ring.

"Yes you are….so how opposed would you be to skipping out of our party early?" He arched an eyebrow mischieviously.

"You think we can sneak out without Alice noticing?"

"Maybe if we go like right now."

We ran, at our vampire speed, to the door…which was blocked by Alice.

"Nope," she turned to Edward. "Bella belongs to us tonight. Girls night. Besides you can't see each other before the wedding, it's tradition."

I opened my mouth to protest but I knew it would be no use. She motioned to Rose and Esme before grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the club. I held onto Edward's hand as long as possible, but before long we were being whisked away in separate directions. And I missed him the instant his skin left mine.


	20. Everything

**A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've kinda gotten swept up in my other story and plus I just started a new job so I've been incredibly busy. Updates won't be that far apart again, but they probably won't be as frequent as they used to be. Anyways here is the long awaited wedding part 1 : )**

"Bella." Alice snapped at me.

"Bella." Now she was kicking at me.

I only realized then that I had been completely zoning out. I was sitting in the chair of Alice's room, gazing out at the sun rising over the skyline. It was officially my wedding day.

Last night had been the longest night of my existence. The endless chatter and girl talk seemed even more endless that I couldn't use sleep as my escape. I endured it though; I let Alice have her fun. Today was my day, all for me and Edward.

"Sorry Alice. Do we have to start getting ready, what time is the wedding?"

"Not telling. But no you don't need to start getting ready yet. The wedding isn't until twilight, right when the sun is setting. You do need to get dressed though you have things to do today."

"Alice its my wedding day, what could I possibly have to do besides prepare for that?"

"You're going with Jasper and Emmett this morning to pick out a grooms gift, while Rosalie and I go with Edward. And then this afternoon I'm taking you shopping for some…things."

I decided not to prompt her for anymore. I was just thankful to be spending a few hours with the boys; I needed some conversation that didn't revolve around hair products or the latest fashion trends.

I got dressed quickly in a simple t-shirt and jeans and pulled my hair into a loose ponytail. There was a knock on the door.

Alice greeted Jasper with a kiss. Emmett followed him in the door.

"Let's go little sister, we got things to do, people to see." Emmett was tapping his foot playfully.

"Oh please Emmett," I said exiting the bathroom. "I probably took less time to get ready than you did."

Jasper laughed. Emmett threw a glare his way.

"What Em?" Jasper laughed again. "You know its true."

Jasper and I were still joking about it as Emmett pulled the car around.

"So Bella, what do you have in mind for Edward?" Jasper asked from the front seat.

"I don't know, I guess I really haven't thought about it. What did Rose and Alice get you guys?"

They exchanged looks.

"Well," Emmett started. "Our gifts were a little less….material. But Alice though you might want to get him something special. She'll take care of the other part later." Well that gave me a better idea of what I'd be doing with Alice this afternoon. It also scared the crap out of me.

We stopped at a few stores, but nothing caught my eye. Edward didn't wear much in the form of jewelry like rings or even watches. Besides I felt like anything I could buy him wouldn't matter, he could easily buy it for himself and not even dent his bank account. I needed something that wasn't something he could buy, something…different. My eyes scanned the different stores as we drove past.

"STOP!" I screamed. Emmett pulled the car into the next available parking spot, not even noticing that he practically cut off the car next to us. We all got out of the car and I started walking towards my intended target.

"You better not be heading where I think you're heading," Jasper said pulling on my arm.

"And why not?"

"Because Edward will kill us….or…whatever is the vampire equivalent to that. We'd be in major trouble." Emmett stood in front of me, blocking my way,

"Well technically it's Edward's gift so he shouldn't have a problem with it…besides it's my body."

I saw them exchange a glance. "You aren't going to win this one guys, it's my choice." I stepped past Emmett and walked in the door.

I was greeted by a very scary looking man with so many piercings I couldn't count. I heard Emmett and Jasper come in behind me.

"What can I help you with today?" The man at the counter looked up at me.

"I'm interested in..getting some work done."

"Okay do you know what you'd like?"

"Not exactly…I'm doing it for my fiancée. As a wedding present. So something significant for us I guess."

"Alright well have a seat and fill out this form while you think about it."

I sat down on the couch, Emmett and Jasper sat on either side of me.

"Bella. I don't know about this." Jasper leaned in and whispered in my ear.

"No Jasper I'm doing it, not ifs ands or buts."

Emmett was flipping through a book full of pictures.

"Hey these look kind of cool. Maybe I'll get one too." This was my in.

"Oh my gosh Emmett, you so should. We can get them together. It will be a sibling bonding experience."

We both looked excitedly at Jasper.

"Don't look at me I'm not getting one." He raised his hands up to signal his final say.

Emmett and I thumbed through the book, but neither of us could find anything that we wanted. I finished filling out the form and Emmett grabbed himself one. I sat on the couch, fidgeting around trying to think of something.

A woman walked into the shop and started talking to the man at the desk.

"Hello, I'm in a local band and I was wondering if I could put a flyer up in your window for our next performance?"

"Yeah totally, go right ahead. What do you play?" The man was clearly flirting.

"Oh I don't play," she said walking up to the window and plastering the yellow flyer on it. "I'm the singer," she said as she walked out the door.

The singer. That's it. I smiled. "I know what I'm getting," I announced to them. Emmett decided to get the Cullen crest on his shoulder.

The man at the counter called our names and led us back into a small room. We asked them if we could do ours together and they obliged instantly. I mean we were paying up front in cash so I suppose they would do anything we asked. Emmett took his shirt off and laid on the table, stomach down. I lifted my shirt up slightly, just enough to expose the right amount of skin. They told me to sit in the chair next to Emmett's. Jasper was in the extra chair near the door with a disgusted look on his face. He did not like this one bit. It was cute though. It was like he was the protective older brother, and Emmett was the brother who was a bad influence. I heard the buzzing start and expected to feel the pain, but there was nothing. _Wow I love being a vampire. _I made sure neither of them saw what I was getting, I wanted it to be a surprise for Edward.

I was done before Emmett so I sat with Jasper as they finished. Both of the artists commented on how they were amazed that we didn't bleed at all. We both laughed. Jasper sighed. Emmett put his shirt back on when he was finished. We were told that we may be sore and a little red for the next few days, but we both knew we wouldn't be.

Jasper drove on the way home, staying completely silent. Emmett and I were going on about great it was. They both walked me back up to Alice's room, where her and Rosalie were waiting patiently. She would have seen us getting them, I wondered how she would feel about it.

"Well," she said opening the door. "Let's see them."

"I don't want to show you Alice, he'll be able to see it. It's his present." She smiled, even though it seemed like she didn't really like it either. Her and Jasper were so meant for each other. But I knew she didn't really care, it was my choice.

"Okay then you, let's see yours." She looked at Emmett.

"Yours?!" Rosalie stood up off the bed and crossed her arms.

"Babe.." Emmett pleaded. Obviously Alice hadn't told Rosalie that Emmett had joined me in my debauchery.

"Let me see it now." Rose was pissed.

Emmett turned and lifted his shirt, revealing his.

"You. Me. Room. Now." Rose stomped out the door. Now I couldn't tell if she was pissed or extremely turned on.

"We're leaving in 5 minutes Rose, make it short," Alice said. That still didn't help my understanding of whether they were getting mad or getting some.

Alice's phone starting ringing. Jasper sat down on the bed and started flipping through the channels.

"Edward," Alice said answering her phone. "Yes they're back. Yeah hold on." She took the phone from her ear. I thought he wanted to talk to me so I reached my hand out. "Jasper, he wants to talk to you."

"Thanks a lot Bella," Jasper said as he took the phone.

I could hear Edward's voice from way across the room. I mouthed "Sorry" to Jasper as he took Edward's verbal bashing.

"Edward she's a big girl, you can deal with her later if you're really that mad about it." His voice was dull and uninterested.

"I know I could have stopped her, but it was her decision."

I was kind of mad that Edward was so upset. This was his present. Hopefully he'd change his mind later when he sees it.

I could hear Edward's words clearly now.

"Jasper how could you let her do that, that's absolutely absurd. Now she's permanently scarred her body!"

Jasper didn't say anything, he just set the remote down, finally deciding on Maury. It was another one of those paternity shows. He started laughing at one of the guest's outbursts after the 7th man tested proved not to be the father.

"Are you laughing?!" I heard Edward scream. I bet Jasper was wishing that he could send his feel good vibes through the phone.

Jasper, still laughing, withdrew the phone from his ear and slowly closed it shut.

"You hung up on him?" I said slowly. That was brave.

"Bella we should get out of here. He'll be here in less than a minute," Alice said grabbing my arm.

"Good luck," I said to Jasper as we bolted down to Rose's room before taking off.

Rose seemed more content about Emmett's new addition. She was smiling, which led me to believe the "getting some" theory.

We pulled up in front of the very store I had hoped to avoid. Victoria's Secret.

"Alice this is totally unnecessary. It's not like it'll be our first time being together."

"I know, I know but it is your wedding night. Just indulge me for an hour..or three."

I was shoved into the closest dressing room. Scary things on hangers started making their way towards me in heaps. Alice said I wasn't allowed to come out before I had picked one. She of course wanted to help me with my decision so she was making me model them.

"Alice this is dumb, Edward's just going to see me in your head."

"Oh no he won't. I'll be busy thinking about wedding stuff the rest of the day. After we leave this store you and these garments will not enter my thoughts. Scout's honor."

I tried on the scarier pieces first. The very last one wasn't that bad. It was still lingerie, but I felt comfortable and sexy and the same time. And plus you could see today's purchase peeking out the side. It was black and simple, only minimal lace. The top was corset type with ties up the back. I was just excited it made my boobs look bigger. The bottoms were simple bikini style, nothing too revealing. It came with garters and stockings. I refused to come out of the dressing room to model it though. Alice and Rosalie came in instead. They both approved and I started to get dressed as quickly as possible.

I paused for a moment, fingering over my tattoo for the first time. I couldn't have been happier with what I'd gotten. It was perfect for us, and I was hoping he'd feel the same way.

Alice drove quickly back to the hotel.

"Oh and before I forget, I got you something else to give Edward. Something a little more material. After I saw what you were getting him I thought you might want something to butter him up." She handed me an envelope.

"What is it?"

"You bought him some studio time so he can do some recording. The only time he's recorded anything he was in his room with his computer. I know it's been a dream of his to work in a real studio." Well crap why couldn't I have thought of that. It's so Edward.

"Thanks Alice," I said tucking the envelope away.

"Now, are you ready to get ready for your wedding soon to be Mrs. Cullen?" She smiled at me as she pulled me back into her room. I was both terrified and excited at what the rest of the day would bring, an endless flurry of makeup and rollers and "beauty is pain" instruments. But I decided it was going to be all worth it when I got to walk down the aisle and marry Edward. He was worth everything.


	21. 6 Months

"Geez Alice if you pull any harder I won't have any hair left. I'd prefer not to be bald for the rest of eternity." She pulled mockingly at my hair.

"Bella. The hair is the most important thing next to the dress. It has to be perfect." I squinted through my one eye as Rosalie was applying my eye shadow.

"Keep. Them. Shut" Rosalie said through her teeth. I heard the door open but I didn't dare to open them at the risk of facing another scolding from Rosalie. It was probably Esme checking up on us.

I felt someone walk up behind me and place their hands on my shoulders. Warm hands. Definitely not vampire hands.

"You make a beautiful bride baby," my mother whispered into my ear.

I opened my eyes and spun around, almost causing both a hair and makeup disaster.

"Mom!" I threw my arms around her. I was so excited that I had to consciously remind myself to be gentle, that I could crush her and not even know it.

"I missed you so much sweetheart." I could feel her arms tighten around me.

Alice and Rosalie silently left the room to give us a few minutes.

My mom leaned back and ran her fingers through the hair that was still hanging at the side of my face. She tucked a piece behind my ear.

"Absolutely beautiful," she said smiling.

"Mom I'm so glad you're here, I feel like I haven't seen you in so long."

"I know sweetie. Listen I'm…I'm really sorry about not being around. You know for the funeral. I did everything I could to get to you and I felt terrible not being there."

I looked down, trying to suppress the sadness.

"I wish that you were there too Mom, but it's okay I understand. And plus I had Edward and his family, and Jacob has been great."

I looked up and found her looking at my eyes. _Uh oh. Did she notice the difference?_

"There's something different about you Bella. I mean you've always been beautiful but wow. You just look so…stunning. You must just be growing up on me."

I sighed a breath of relief. Good thing she was excusing it on "growing up," I wasn't prepared with another excuse yet.

"Well I know you're getting ready, I don't want to keep you, but I wanted to give you something."

She reached in her bag and pulled out a long black box.

"This necklace, was made with pearls from the necklaces that both of your grandmother's wore on their wedding day. Your..your father and I were saving it for your wedding day, so I guess the day is today." She handed me the box.

I slowly opened it and gasped. It was beautiful. It was simple. It was totally me.

"Oh Mom it's gorgeous. Will you put it on?" I carefully removed the necklace from its place and handed it to her.

Her hands glided up to my neck, where she hooked the clasp on the necklace. It fell slightly to graze my collarbone before settling. I ran my fingers over it lovingly, imagining my grandmothers wearing the pearls.

"Oh sweetie. You are freezing," she said rubbing my shoulders. "Let me turn up the heat."

I laughed a little. I forgot that I would feel cold to her.

She started towards the door.

"I'll be back later baby, I'm going to go check on Phil and get ready. Then I think I'll go and make sure everything's set up and see if Esme needs any help. So I may be awhile."

"It's okay Mom, go. Besides I'll be busy with Alice and Rosalie for awhile."

The girls were back an instant after my mom left and they continued their assault on my hair and face. Alice finished my hair. Then decided that she didn't like it. So she took it down and redid it. Needless to say it took her three hours to finally decide that she wanted it half up. The rest was done in loose curls cascading down my back.

The next time I looked out the window, the sun was getting lower on the horizon.

"Is it that late already?" I said looking at my watch.

"Time flies when you're having fun." Alice laughed.

"Ha. Fun."

It was already time to put my dress on apparently because Alice was unzipping the garment bag and pulling it out. It was breathtaking. I couldn't believe I got to wear it. It even had me, the girl who didn't get all huffy about weddings, excited. I smiled and brought my hands up to my face, almost giddy.

"Alice it's amazing." I looked it over appreciatively. It was almost like it matched the necklace perfectly. I felt my fingers running over my necklace.

"Bella, you're forgetting. I can see the future." She pointed to her temple.

"Oh right. You knew that they were giving this to me."

She walked towards me with the dress and I stepped carefully into it. Rosalie helped her ease it up on my body and I felt her hands running up the length of back, I assumed buttoning the million buttons.

I ran my fingers over the fabric, straightening it out against my body. Alice was busing attaching my veil while Rosalie helped me step into my shoes. Thank Goodness I had convinced Alice to not torture my feet today. They weren't too high.

"There. I think you're almost ready." Alice stood back and appraised. She brought her hand up to her chin. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"You forgot this," Rosalie said as she flung something at me. I grabbed the blue bunch of fabric in my hands. A garter. Alice started to grab it, most likely to put it on my leg but I held onto it firmly.

"This is one thing I can do." I bent down and slid the garter up my leg.

"Well Bella I think you might be all ready to go. Now we're going to go get ready and go to the location. Jacob will be here in fifteen minutes to pick you up. Do. Not. Touch. Anything." I think she was scared she'd leave me and I'd change into sneakers and pull my hair up into a ponytail.

"I won't do anything I promise," I smiled at her as they both slipped out the door.

When they were gone I looked back at myself in the mirror. It was nice to finally have a little time to myself. I hadn't even realized fifteen minutes had passed until I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said not removing my eyes from the mirror. I saw Jacob walk in. I heard him catch his breath in his throat and smile.

"Bells. Wow. You really are a beautiful bride."

I stood up and turned around to face him.

"Thanks Jake." I put my arms around him and nuzzled into his chest, making sure not to smear my makeup.

His hand lightly cupped my head as he placed his head on top of mine.

"Love you."

"Love you too." I pulled back. "Thanks again for..for you know doing this Jake. It means everything to me."

"You might not be saying that to me in a few seconds. I've been given strict instructions by Alice. Sorry Bells." He pulled out a black blindfold.

"Oh come on!" I said as I threw my hands up in frustration.

"Please Bells. Save me from the wrath of Alice," he pleaded.

"Okay but not until we get in the car," I grabbed my bouquet and my bag and headed out the door.

Jake carefully tied the blindfold over my eyes. I was in complete darkness. I felt him start the car up and start driving. We didn't drive very long before he parked and helped me out of the car.

I did not like this whole blindness thing. I grabbed onto Jake's arm for dear life as he led me up a few stairs and in a door.

"Okay Bells there's a lot of steps here. So is it okay if I carry you?"

"Hell yes." There was no way I was walking up "a lot of stairs" in this dress.

I felt him scoop me up and make his way up. He finally set me down and I felt the blindfold being taken off of my eyes. I was in a tiny room, if you could call it that. Alice and Rosalie were there and there was a red exit sign over a door in front of me.

"You followed my directions Jake. Good thing," Alice winked at him and turned to me. "Ready?"

"I'm ready." Alice and Rosalie started to slip out the red exit door. I tried to peek around the door but it closed to fast. Where the hell were we? I heard the music start. A minute later it switched into another song and I took that as our cue. I smiled at Jake and took his arm. He brought us forward and opened the door. If I could still cry I would have burst into tears at the sight. We were on the roof, our roof. It was done up a lot like what Edward had done before, but it was just…more. Lots more. The sun had just set below the horizon and cast orange and pink streaks across the sky. It was just dark enough that you could see all the white Christmas lights draped all over the roof. I couldn't believe she had fit more up here than Edward had. It was almost like a blanket of lights was laid across the entire roof. White hydrangeas hung from invisible strings with crystals dangling down from them. I finally looked down at the white aisle, which was scattered with bright red petals. The greenhouse was draped with all sorts of beautiful things.

Once I could tear my eyes away from what was on the roof, I saw who was on the roof. I sighed when I realized Alice had taken my wishes into consideration. There were several round tables set up around the roof. It looked like we were having the reception right out here. They parted to make way for the aisle and there was a small dance floor with a piano to the side.

The pack took up two whole tables. My mom and Phil were seated with Carlisle and Esme. Billy and Sue sat at a table with Mary Ann and little Maddie. I was surprised to see that Alice had invited Angela and Ben, as well as Jessica, Mike, and Tyler. I smiled brightly at them. I hadn't expected them to be here.

Jake had to nudge me to get me walking down the aisle. I was just so caught up in everything and everyone on that roof, I had to remember why I was really here. He was standing at the end, waiting for me in a gray suit and red rose pinned on his chest. Emmett and Jasper were by his side and Alice and Rosalie looked stunning in their shiny red dresses. But none of them could compare to my future husband. Once I started walking my eyes never left his. He was smiling my favorite crooked smile and it was as warm as I'd ever seen it. He was ecstatic. I let out a giggle and the entire crowd chuckled at my overexcitement. I finally reached him. Jake lifted my veil and planted a kiss on my cheek before shaking Edward's hand and placing mine in it.

The minister must have started the vows, but I was so completely lost in Edward's butterscotch eyes that I hardly noticed. He had to squeeze my hand a bit to get me to say "I do." He answered promptly when it was his turn, almost before the minister had finished. _Over anxious much?_

Before I knew it Edward was pulling me in for a kiss amid a roar of cheers and applause. It was short and sweet and he had to be the one to break. I gave him a look that told him he would be making that up to me later. We walked hand in hand back down the aisle. When we reached the end I pulled him back in for another kiss.

"So I rented out a room for you guys, to you know freshen up before you come back up here for the reception." Alice said as soon as she made it back. "And I do mean freshen up, save play time for later."

Edward carried me down the stairs to one of the empty apartments. It must have been where we were keeping all of our stuff because it was full of purses and coats galore.

As soon as Edward set me down I turned towards him. "We're married."

He laughed. "We are."

I pulled him in, kissing him a lot more passionately than I could out in public. I felt him smile against my lips.

"Alice said play time later."

"I'm not having play time, I'm just kissing my husband. And if she has a problem with that she can kiss my ass."

I spun towards the mirror and examined myself, making sure my makeup was still decent. I noticed my bag was on the vanity.

"Oh. I have..something for you." I rummaged through my bag until I found the envelope Alice had given me.

"Happy..wedding day," I said as I handed it to him.

He smiled and undid the envelope in one fluid motion.

"No way…" he looked up at me, his eyes wide. "No! WAY! You got me studio time!"

Thank you Alice.

"Do you like it?" I said as I wrapped my arms around him.

"Like it? Mrs. Cullen you are too good. This is amazing."

"Mmmm. Mrs. Cullen. I like how that sounds Mr. Cullen. Oh. And you get the rest of your present later." I winked and gave him a slight tap well below his back.

"Yeah about that…." I should have brought up the tattoo. He hadn't mentioned it until I said something about it.

"No no no," I pushed my finger against his mouth. "You are not allowed to bitch until you see it."

"Bella…" He mumbled against my finger. I nudged my finger in between his lips, forcing them to part slightly. I felt his lips encircle it and his tongue lightly graze it. "You really know how to distract me."

I laughed. "It's no fun being dazzled is it?"

"Oh no it's fun. Loads of fun. It's kind of hard to yell at you." He smiled and I knew that he wasn't going to press the issue further.

"So," I mused, trying to distract him even further. "Where's my present?" I held out my hands expectantly. I really didn't care what he got me, or if he had gotten me anything at all. He was the best thing he could have ever given me and I didn't need anything else. But Alice did say that they went shopping today.

"Actually love. You don't get your gift until we get home. It's kinda…big."

I burst out into laughter. "I know."

"Not that you pervert," he scoffed playfully.

"I just meant that it's…too big of a thing to like..move."

My hysterical laughter grew.

"Oh geez Bella." He draped his arm around me. "I swear your mind is always in the gutter."

"Well I am a newlywed."

We left the room and made our way back upstairs to join the party. I walked immediately over to my mother and Phil, who both greeted me with a hug.

"Congratulations." My mom gave Edward a hug as well and Phil shook his hand.

We made our way around to all the tables. We came up to the table with our old high school friends and I saw a flash go off in front of me. Angela had a small disposable camera in her hand.

"This is such a good idea," she said looking back at the camera.

Only then did I realize that there were small cameras on each table.

"What are those for?" I asked as I leaned into Edward.

"Well instead of hiring a photographer, Alice came up with this idea. She put disposable cameras on each table and our guests will all be our photographers."

"Wow. That's fantastic!" I smiled. It truly was. I'd love seeing our wedding through our friend's and families' eyes.

We talked with the group for a while, all about college and our reunion and what we've been up to lately. It was nice to see all of them again. I was glad to see Angela and Ben were still together. I was always rooting for them.

Pretty soon Edward was pulling me out on the dance floor for our first dance. It was met with an endless parade of flashes. As the evening was winding down, Alice announced that it was time for the bouquet and garter toss. I watched as Lauren and Jessica, the only single girls dance excitedly onto the dance floor. I looked over my shoulder, planning my throw. I closed my eyes and tossed it back, only to turn and see it land directly in Angela's hands. _Nice shot Bella_. I stole a look at Ben. He laughed nervously. Maybe that would get him going on a proposal.

The garter toss was a whole different story. I sat in the chair as Edward stuck his head under my dress. I felt his head on my calf, then on my inner thigh. I shifted a little in the chair. He was playing dirty. I felt his teeth wrap around the garter and he started to drag it down, but not before running his tongue lightly across my inner thigh.

I gave him a scowl as he re-emerged, garter in mouth. He winked as he took it out of his mouth and flung it to the crowd of boys behind him. It was like it all happened in slow motion. Paul leaped into the air, only to collide head on with Quil. Seth tripped over them as he reached out to grab the airborne garter, yelling a dramatic "Nooooo" as he fell to the ground. I could almost hear the Waltz of the Flowers from the Nutcracker playing in the background. Mike and Ben were left, with their hands in their pockets. I don't think either of them thought they had a chance against all these overgrown beasts. They looked at each other, as the garter headed their way. Mike looked at me and I motioned with my head for him to step away. He smiled in understanding and took a large step to his right, allowing the garter to fall right into Ben's hands. _Mission complete_.

The night was finally coming to an end and I for one was ready to get back and open my..big surprise. We said a quick thank you to our guests before Edward whisked me away. I was excited for this long night. We couldn't drive fast enough back to Forks; I swear I saw the speedometer reached one hundred and fifty. Edward was driving like a madman. His hands were planted firmly in the 10 and 2 position and he was sitting right up close to the steering wheel, his eyes focused on the road. He almost looked like Cruella Deville in 101 Dalmatians trying to run the truck off the road. I decided to play with his emotions a little.

I lifted the hem of my skirt up, exposing my entire leg. I lifted it up and set it on the dashboard, allowing my skin to glisten in the moonlight. Edward's eyes broke a little from the road as he tried to be sneaky and take a peak without turning his head. I felt the car roar as he pressed down the gas pedal. 160…170…190. Silly, silly boys. They are just too easy.


	22. I Could Not Ask For More

I laughed as the tires screeched while we skidded to a stop in our driveway. I started to get out of the car at my full speed, but before I could take a step towards the front door, Edward pressed me against the car and slowly brought his lips up to my ear.

"That was a very…very evil thing you did on the way home," he whispered.

"Do you want to punish me?" I said seductively.

"Not quite yet. I want to give you your present first. I'll punish you later." He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I let my arms fall relaxed and let my eyes fix on the beautiful view from behind. I was still laughing as carried me through the house and set me down about where the wall of the kitchen should have been. The wall was gone, and in its place was a beautiful glass French door.

I turned back towards him in awe.

"Edward what is this…?"

He leaned closer to me and spun me back around.

"It's your present," he wrapped his arms and started swaying us back and forth. "Why don't you go check it out?" He planted a kiss on my neck before releasing me.

I walked tentatively towards the door. How did he manage to build a whole other room this quick? I couldn't help but marvel in how amazing he was, and I hadn't even seen the whole room yet.

The door opened silently as I stepped in. My hand searched for a light. It was so dark in there I could only make out shapes, even with my heightened sight. Edward's hand reached up and flipped on the switch that mine had been searching for.

"Oh my God. Edward!" I turned and threw my arms around him, planting soft kisses all down his perfect jaw.

"I'm glad you like it."

"It's….unbelievable."

I turned back excitedly and ran into the middle of the room. The walls of it, if you could call them that, were floor to ceiling glass, looking out to the small patch of trees behind the house. But I wasn't looking outside; I was in shock of what was inside. Canvases, sketchbooks of every kind, pencils, markers, paints, brushes, even clay. There was an island holding all of the supplies in the middle of the room with stools surrounding it. There was an easel and chair in the far corner of the room. I recognized the chair immediately. It was my dad's chair from his desk at the station. It wasn't really the standard type of art chair, but it was perfect for me. Whenever I needed a little inspiration, I'd have a part of him here with me. I walked over to it and ran my fingers over the rough fabric, closing my eyes remembering.

I felt Edward's hands on my shoulders, rubbing comfortingly.

"Thank you," I whispered. "This is incredible. Everything."

"I just wanted you to have your own little room to be you in. I don't want you to ever give up something that you love Bella. I want you to embrace it and this…place is perfect for that. It's all yours in every way."

"How do you know me so well?" I said as I faced him and put my arms around his neck.

"Because we're meant to be together. You're my other half; I'm not complete without you. Sometimes I feel like I know you better than I'll ever know me."

I nuzzled into his neck.

"Now if you don't mind Mr. Cullen, I'd like to…thank you properly for my present. You have yet to open the second part of yours."

I felt him smile.

"As do you."

"There can't be more than this Edward, it's too much."

"Oh but there can. Close your eyes."

I did as he asked and he picked me up and carried me swiftly up the stairs.

The smell of rose petals, burning wax, and red wine permeated my nose. Edward, wax, flowers, and booze. My idea of a perfect evening. He set me on my feet again.

"Can I open?"

"Please do."

Our bedroom had been completely transformed. It looked like a flower shop had exploded in here. There were what looked like millions of deep red rose petals around the entire room with white candles of all shapes and sizes lining the edge of the room. Our boring old comforter had been replaced with a fluffy down one. There was a full bouquet of red roses sitting on the bed, as well as a bottle of what looked like wine. I was 3 for 3 on those.

Edward's lips were at my neck, kissing all the way down my shoulder as one hand grazed slowly down my arm. The other started undoing the back of my dress. I turned quickly and slapped his hand away. He looked shocked.

"Not yet. I have a surprise for you."

He pouted his lip out momentarily then pulled out an incredibly sexy smile.

"Do not try to dazzle me right now Edward Cullen, it won't work. It's my night to dazzle you. And baby let me tell you, you will be dazzled." I skipped lightly to the bathroom, where my lingerie was hiding. I slipped out of my wedding gown and hung it up.

I pulled the not so terrifying lingerie onto my perfectly sculpted body. Thank God he turned me before this, there's no way I'd have the confidence to walk out in this while I was still human.

After giving myself the once over I walked into the hallway and poked my head through the bedroom door.

Edward was running his fingers idly across the bouquet of flowers, taking his time feeling each petal.

I cleared my throat and he straightened up, setting the bouquet back down.

"Are you ready to open your present?"

"I suppose." I knew he wasn't excited about the tattoo, but he could at least fake excitement. This was his present. He causally brought one foot up to rest on his knee and rested his elbows on his leg. Such a whiney ass.

I stepped confidently into the bedroom.

His eyes widened and I heard his breathing catch in his throat.

I did a little curtsey. "You like?"

He sat frozen, his mouth hanging open like a dog eyeing his food dish.

"That good? Really?" I walked over to him until my stomach was inches away from his face.

"Now. Take a look at the second part of your wedding present."

I pulled my boy shorts down slightly at the hip, revealing La Tua Cantante written in perfect script.

His gaze turned down so he was finally looking at it. I was practically bracing myself for him to unleash his wrath on me. He ran his fingers lightly over it, examining the artwork. I shivered a little as his finger brushed against my hipbone. A snarl ripped from his chest.

"Now Edward, just relax. It's just a tattoo, it didn't even hurt, and it's my body…"

He stood up forcefully as he growled again.

"Stop." He said sternly.

"Stop what?" He didn't have to be such a dick about it.

"Just. Stop." A sexy smile spread across his face.

He pushed me back a little farther from the bed, just enough so he could kneel down in front of me. His eyes looked up at me from under his lashes as he brought his lips my ink.

"Sexiest. Thing. I've ever seen."

I let out a sigh of relief. I had been hoping that he'd change his mind once he saw it. Clearly he had.

I closed my eyes and tipped my head back. I felt my boy shorts fall to the ground and Edward's hands caress up my entire body. He picked me up and laid me gently on the bed, hovering above me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, bringing him closer to me. He smiled again as he brought his teeth to the chest of my corset top, taking the hem of it in his teeth. He let out a playful snarl as he began to tear. As he worked his way down he would stop occasionally to place kisses all down my chest. All I could hear was the ripping and tearing of the pile of fabric formally known as my top. The rest of the night was a blur of pillows, rose petals, and hot, hot wax.

The next morning Edward and I lay at opposite ends of the bed, he was camped out at the foot while I leaned against the headboard. His foot was massaging gently up and down my side, while he caressed my toes playfully, occasionally kissing the top of my foot.

"Best. Wedding Night. Ever," he said slowly. It was like he had just won the Super bowl. I was half expecting him to break out in a touchdown dance.

I laughed and ducked under the covers, kissing him all the way up to his chin before resting on his chest.

"You can say that again."

"I can't even imagine what the honeymoon is going to be like." Crap. That was something I wanted to talk to him about. Might as well be now.

"Babe I kind of had a little idea about the whole Hawaiian honeymoon, if you're okay with it."

"I'm sure I will be, what is it?"

Word vomit ensued. "Well you see I was thinking. And we have all of eternity to go traveling wherever we want to go. But Jake and Mary Ann, they don't have all the time that we do. And plus they have Maddie now, they're not going to get much time off. So I was thinking maybe we should give them our honeymoon. You know they really deserve it and I just think that we have all the time in the world for that kind of stuff, what do you think are you mad?" It all came out so fast I didn't even know where it came from.

Edward laughed. "That's an excellent idea."

"Really?" I thought he might have planned this whole elaborate escape for us and he might be mad I wanted to give it up. But this was important.

"Really. I'll call the airport and make all the changes. Why don't you go call Jake and tell him to be ready to go at 5 p.m.?"

I squealed excitedly as I reached for my phone. Edward left the room to make all the arrangements.

"Jake? How do you feel about getting lei'd?"

"I just did thanks." I could hear the sarcasm in his voice.

"Yeah me too. Hey listen Edward and I…we've decided to wait on the whole honeymoon thing." I decided it was best to lie a little. Jake would never take the gift if he knew I did want to go. "And since we aren't using it and its already paid for, we're giving it to you and MaryAnn. So guess what? You're going to Hawaii in…" I looked at the clock. "…7 hours!"

"No way? Are you serious?"

"I'm serious. Break out your tropical shirts and flip flops."

"Woohoo! Mary Ann! Mary Ann! I'm getting lei'd!" I could tell he was yelling out into his house. The next thing I heard was a smack and a crack as the phone fell to the floor.

"No, not like that. Geez." I could still hear what was going on. "Bella and Edward are sending us to Hawaii."

I heard Mary Ann scream before she picked up the phone.

"SHUT UP! You're sending us to Hawaii?!"

"We are. Hurry up and pack, we'll be there to take you to the airport in a few hours. And don't worry about Maddie, she can stay with us."

She dropped the receiver again.

"Shit Mary Ann did you really have to hit me?"

"Well what do you expect when you tell me you're getting laid?"

"I was trying to make a joke." I could practically see him shrugging his shoulders.

"I'll see you guys in a few!" I yelled into the phone, hoping they would hear me.

"Bye Bells!" They said in unison.

I hung up the phone laughing. They could be so entertaining.

Edward came in the room just then.

"All set?" I asked, getting out of bed and starting to pull some clothes on.

"Yep they're all set to go. Are we picking them up?"

"Yeah and I offered to watch Maddie while they're gone. I hope that's okay."

"No it's fine." I knew that Edward liked having Maddie here more than he'd let on. He tried to hide it, but I knew him too well.

A few hours later we were waving goodbye to Jake and Mary Ann. I held Maddie in my arms, while Edward carried her baby bag. We probably looked like a cute little family.

Later that night, after we'd put Maddie to bed, I decided to try out my new studio. Edward left me alone to work, while he sat in the living room reading, listening intently to the baby monitor. I swear he's more paranoid about that little girl than he ever was with me.

I decided to try out painting. I started with a sketch of Edward and me on a blank canvas. His nose was nestled into my hair, his eyes were closed. I looked up lovingly at him while my hand held his arm, which was wrapped around me. I stared down at the million different colors of paint, deciding what to do next. I decided to grab some blue for my shirt and put it tentatively on the canvas. I stood back, appraising, as I rubbed my hand across my forehead.

I heard Maddie start to cry.

"I got it!" Edward jumped up instantly and was up the stairs in a flash. I could hear him singing a lullaby to Maddie through the baby monitor. I could just imagine him sitting in the rocking chair, moving back and forth trying to comfort her. It was an image I would love to see, I almost crept up to take a peek but I resisted. Soon Maddie's cries ceased with Edward's touch. I went back to my work. I didn't realize how much time had passed, but the next time I looked at the clock it was 4 a.m. I was surprised Edward hadn't come in to see what I was up to. The painting didn't look too shabby. This was definitely something I needed some more practice in, but I enjoyed it.

I started washing the brushes thoroughly. I decided it was time to go find Edward. I turned only to run right into him.

"Hey Picasso, how's it going?"

"It's going good."

"What do you think?" I gestured over to the painting.

"I think it looks great. I think you're very talented. And I also think you should clean that smear of blue paint on your forehead."

My hand flew up to my forehead. I could feel the crusty dried on paint. How did I not notice that before?

I smiled and took a glob of the same blue paint and rubbed it across his forehead.

"There. Now we match."

Edward laughed as he grabbed for more paints. "You really shouldn't have done that," he said with a smirk before he lunged.

By the time it was over I had two red handprints on my ass, streaks down the front of my shirt, and globs of paint stuck in my hair. Edward had managed to escape with a few minor blobs on his face and arms.

He took my hand and raised it up in the air, twirling me around. "Now there's a masterpiece if I've ever seen one."

I would have blushed if it were still possible.

He suddenly looked down at his watch.

"Now we really do have to get cleaned up or we'll be late."

"Late….late for what?"

"You'll see." He smiled that Edward smile that meant that he had something up his sleeve.


	23. Music of the Night

"Edward where are we going?" He had refused to tell me anything, except to pack for rain, which wasn't a big problem because we did live in Forks. We had been driving for a couple of hours since we dropped Maddie off at Sue's.

"Bella for the hundredth time, you'll find out soon."

"When is soon?"

"Soon."

I let out an annoyed sigh. "But this isn't a honeymoon right? I mean we just gave up our honeymoon for a reason."

"I can promise you it is not a honeymoon."

I eyed him suspiciously as we pulled up to the airport.

He got our bags out and took my hand as we walked into the international terminal.

"Humph. Not a honeymoon?"

I turned and saw our entire family in the check in line, Emmett and Rosalie, Jasper, Alice and Carlisle, and Esme.

"Like I said." Edward said smugly. "Not a honeymoon. It's more of a…family vacation."

I started screaming with joy as I ran up and hugged Alice.

"Alice where are we going?!"

She smiled and nodded up to the big board of departures. Paris, Milan, London, Dublin…which one was ours? Rain. Edward said there'd be rain. Everyone knows London is one of the rainiest places on earth, besides Forks that is. I spun around and ran to Edward.

"We're going to London?!"

"We're going to London."

I was overwhelmed with excitement. I'd never been out of the country before, ever. Not even to Canada. And I've always wanted to go to London.

I was fidgety the entire flight. My leg bounced up and down furiously as the flight dragged on. Emmett and Rosalie slipped into the bathroom a few times during the trip. I nudged Edward each time and we laughed together at their impatience.

The plane finally touched down into darkness. Once we cleared customs we headed down to collect our luggage, warranting strange looks from everyone we passed. I guess England was no different than the U.S.; we were freakish looking no matter what continent we were on.

Emmett found his bag first, followed by Carlisle and Esme's. Rosalie, Jasper, and mine and Edward's bags came in unison. We all stood waiting for Alice's humungous bag. It looked like she was moving her entire wardrobe over here. We waited, and we waited, and waited. We waited until everyone else had gone and they actually shut down the luggage machine.

"Alice," I said softly as I put my hand on her shoulder. "I…I don't think its here." I had to handle this delicately, this was a sensitive subject.

Her fists tensed up as she spun quickly and headed towards the customer service desk. There was a rather portly woman sitting behind the glass, playing a game of solitaire on her computer.

Alice raised her finger and tapped vigorously on the glass.

The woman jumped in terror at the crazed look on Alice's face. This was going to by ugly. You don't mess around with Alice and her clothes.

"Can…can I help you miss?"

"Yes. Yes you can help me. You lost my bag. You…lost my clothes. All of my clothes. Gone to who knows where, being worn around by who knows who. This is an emergency you need to call someone. Right now."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience miss. If you could just fill out this form giving us your local address, we'll have it delivered if it turns up."

Wrong thing to say.

"So what. Does that mean it may not show up?"

"It is…a possibility." The woman gulped hard.

Alice grabbed the form, threw a wicked glance at the woman before spinning around and walking away.

"I need some good walking shoes, some arms, and my credit card. This is serious."

We all stood in awe of her outburst. She turned back around to face us.

"Chop chop people. This is a fashion emergency."

"Alice it's one in the morning. Nothing's going to be open," I said cautiously. "You're going to have to wait until tomorrow morning."

She was speechless. Her eyes scanned the group waiting for someone to suggest something else.

"Well fine," she said crossing her arms. "Let's go then."

We decided it would be easiest to take the Subway into the city, since a taxi would have taken forever. And plus we could all ride together on the train.

I walked up to the ticket counter labeled trains and asked the man at the desk for a subway pass.

"Bella they call it the tube….we want a tube pass."

"Oh. Right. Sorry. I need a tube pass please."

"For how long miss?"

"Uhh…" I turned back to Edward. I didn't know how long we were staying here.

"Two weeks please. Actually make that eight passes." Edward handed him a wad of cash.

He printed out our passes and we followed the signs for the train to the city. The ride was long, but at least it wasn't too crowded. Alice was silent the entire time, sitting with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face. Jasper lovingly stroked her cheek occasionally and she would momentary lighten up before settling back into her pouty state.

We got off at the Russell Square station and began to make our way to where we were staying. Carlisle looked very nostalgic. I can't imagine how weird it must feel to be back here after all these years and have it be so completely different.

Edward stopped in front of a tall building, no sign, no valet, no anything that indicated it was a hotel.

"This doesn't look like a hotel?"

"That's because its not." Edward said smiling. "We all got our own flats."

"Flat whats?"

"No Bella, flats. Flats are apartments."

"Oh!" I said, finally understanding what they meant.

"You rented each of us a whole apartment for a vacation?"

"Well Carlisle did."

"Thank you Carlisle."

We carried our stuff to our respective apartments. Alice and Jasper were two down from us and the rest of them were on the floor above us. Carlisle thought it was best to separate us a little to avoid being too conspicuous.

"And so we don't bug each other? Rose can be pretty loud if you know what I mean."

Rosalie had slapped Emmett firmly before walking into their door.

I plopped down on the bed and laid back.

"So what are our plans for the trip?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Right now?" I said pulling on his shirt, forcing him down on the bed. "You."

We met the group in the lobby the next morning to go out sightseeing, after Alice had done her shopping of course. Carlisle was the best tour guide, especially for all the historic places. We toured the Tower of London, got to see the Crown Jewels, strolled through Hyde Park and finally ended up at Buckingham Palace. Emmett was determined to make the Queen's guards laugh.

He tried everything from telling jokes to making obscenely funny faces with no luck. That was the most dejected I'd ever seen him. Especially when all Jasper had to do was send out his humorous vibes. They instantly burst into laughter, practically doubling over, granting stern looks from their superiors. Alice took out a few disposable cameras and took pictures.

"Hey where are those from?" They looked oddly familiar.

"They're the ones from your wedding. They all had some exposures left on them so I brought them to finish them up."

It was nearly getting dark outside when we made it back to our place. I was starting to get….hungry and became panicked.

"Edward what are we going to eat? There isn't enough wildlife in the city?"

He laughed at my frantic expression.

"Don't you think I've thought of that love."? He held up a cooler. I walked over and opened it. It was full of bags of blood.

"How did this get past security?"

"Carlisle flashed them his medical clearance and said he was transporting it for medical purposes."

"Nice." I said laughing.

"So what are we doing tonight?" I said as we ate our dinner.

"Well I was thinking maybe we could go to a show. If you'd like?"

"Yeah that'd be great. Which one?"

"It's a surprise."

"Of course it is." I said sipping up the last drop.

I took a quick shower and started to get ready. We both decided to go classy with black attire.

I loved the way our skin looked together and against the black material, alabaster with obsidian.

Edward wore a nice black suit jacket with a white dress shirt underneath. He completed his look with black dress pants and gelled hair.

"You know you might just be the sexiest guy in England….well except for that Robert Pattinson guy…"

"Ha. I could take him anyday." Edward said as he popped his collar up.

"If that's what you want to think sweetheart," I teased.

We walked hand in hand through Piccadilly Circus. It was all lit up just like Times Square with little shops and cafes everywhere. We'd have to come back here sometime. Alice would love all the shopping available to her. As we turned right down a side road, it started to rain. Edward pulled out a black umbrella and pulled me close, shielding me from the rain.

We walked for another few minutes, passing the throngs of people. He stopped in front of a large lit up sign that had all the glamour of old Hollywood.

"Phantom of the Opera?"

"Yeah I know you'll love it. Plus I kind of sympathize with the Phantom. It's been a favorite story of mine since the book came out. And the music is just pure genius."

I loved how his face lit up when he talked about music or anything else he was passionate about.

"Reservation for Cullen please," he said to the man at the ticket counter.

The man eyed us closely, actually just me closely. I still wasn't used to people looking at me like that.

"There must be some mistake," he said. "I have a reservation for a Mr. and Mrs. Cullen but that was obviously an error on our part." He smiled obnoxiously.

"No. No mistake. Mr. and Mrs." Edward smiled back pointing to both of us.

The man was taken back in surprise.

"Surely you two are too young to be married?" He said teasing.

"We are very married. Newlyweds actually. We just haven't had much time in the city we've been in our room so much." Edward winked at me. He was definitely trying to make the man uncomfortable and it was working. He quickly gave us our tickets and didn't say another word.

I started to head towards the doors that led to the lower seating area, I had assumed Edward wouldn't have accepted anything less than front row. He tugged my arm towards the stairs.

"Oh," I said as we ascended them. I didn't care either way, but I was just surprised.

He bypassed the area where the balcony seats were and towards a man in a penguin coat. The man took one look at our tickets and stepped aside, allowing us to pass. Edward towed me along behind him, as if he knew exactly where he was going.

We came to the end of a long hallway. There was a bright red curtain that Edward quickly pushed aside. I looked out and down into the theater. We were seated in our own personal box on the right side of the stage.

"These are the best seats." Edward said pushing my chair in for me as I sat down. I took my time before the show started to look around the theater. It was absolutely beautiful. The architecture was incredibly intricate and detailed. It was breathtaking. The lights dimmed twice, signaling that the performance was about to begin. I was beginning to get really excited. I had heard so many amazing things about this play, but had never gotten the chance to see it. From the rise of the chandelier at the beginning to its crash at the end I was completely mesmerized. Edward was right about the music. It was absolutely intoxicating. I leaned forward on the edge of my seat, watching as the Phantom performed his solo. I felt Edward lean forward to where I was. He leaned into my ear and sang softly along with the Phantom.

"_You alone can make my soul take flight_…"

I felt something fall into my lap. My hands felt for the object. I felt soft, smooth petals under my fingers. I brought the rose up to my nose, inhaling its scent. I felt the prickly feeling in my eyes as the curtain closed, signaling that if I was my normal human self I would have been bawling my eyes out. I looked at Edward. It was still dark in the theater, but I could see the light in his eyes as he looked at me. I leaned in to kiss him before the cast came out for their applause. I was on my feet, cheering and whistling.

There were still tons of people out when we exited the theater, my arm in Edward's.

"So what did you mean..earlier?"

He looked at me puzzled.

"When you said you sympathized with the Phantom."

"Oh. That." He smiled as he began. "Well he's this horrible..monster." I cringed when I heard the word. "And he's so desperately in love with this woman that he knows that he can't have. It drives him crazy, literally. I knew what that was like. Thankfully my Christine saw past all my dark flaws."

I leaned closer to him. "Well then you are the most beautiful, kind monster I've ever met. And besides, I would have chosen the Phantom over Raoul anyday."

His head bent back in laughter.

I fingered the rose in my hand as we took the tube to the waterfront and walked along the river. The Tower Bridge stood in front of us, all lit up, along with everything around it.

"Thank you for bringing me here," I whispered looking around at all the lights. "This is the most amazing place I've ever been."

"I'm glad you like it. It is definitely one of my favorite places on the planet."

I stopped, pulling his hand back with me. The moon was the biggest I'd ever seen it and even though you couldn't really see the stars, it was a beautiful night.

"I love you," I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my forehead to his.

"Ti amo."

"Ooo. Pulling the sexy talk on me are you?"

"Senza di voi il mio amore, la mia vita è incompleta."

"Oh yeah." I pulled his face to mine laughing. He picked me up and spun us gently in circles as we kissed in the moonlight. It was the most perfect night of my existence. And apparently it wasn't even over yet.

"We have one more stop before we go back." Edward was smiling.

"I don't deserve you." He spoiled me way too much.

I recognized the place. We were in Hyde Park. Except it was way after park hours. There was not another soul in it. Not even a passed out bum. The sheer silence was unbelievable. Edward stepped forward onto a small boat in the water.

"Follow me my love," he took my hand and helped me onto the boat, even though he knew I didn't need it. Always the gentleman.

I sat at one end of the boat while he rowed us out. He took off his suit jacket, which now lay at the bottom of the boat. Once we were far enough out, he brought the oars in and let us drift along aimlessly. We lay down in the boat, our heads on pillows, looking up at the sky. We must have talked for hours because I began to notice the sky was lightening up. I sat up just as the sun peaked over the horizon. There were large groups of swans encircling us.

Edward sat up and put his chin on my shoulder.

"Thank goodness for Alice and her amazing abilities."

He pulled a small bag out of his jacket pocket.

"Here," he said handing the bag to me. "It's bread crumbs. You can feed them."

I took the bag excitedly and began tossing the crumbs out onto the water. The swans jumped on them like they hadn't eaten in days. I laughed as they fought each other for the little pieces of bread. I ran out pretty quickly.

Edward pulled me back to rest on his shoulder. He was propped up against the back of the boat, his lower body still laying down. We began to float under a willow-like looking tree, whose long braches were drooped into the water. It was like we were in our own little slice of heaven under this tree. The orange streaks from the sun pierced through in some spots, but it was mostly just a sea of leafy greens everywhere you looked.

We idled under the tree for a couple of hours before Edward sat up and began paddling us the short distance to the shore.

"Do we really have to go?" I said looking back out over the water.

"Well the park opens in about an hour. And we have another full day of activities and I think Alice would be upset with us if we mysteriously didn't show."

I pouted my lower lip out as he pulled me out of the boat.

"We still have 12 more nights here Bella. There's plenty of time left."

I smiled at the thought as we walked along, heading back to our flat for the day's activities.


	24. Revenge is Sweeter Than You Ever Were

After two weeks in London, I certainly felt like I'd seen everything I could possibly see, but as our plane landed in Forks I suddenly missed it. Dark and dreary just wasn't as fun without a British accent.

We decided to go nerdy and all wear our "I Love London" shirts on the way back. We probably looked like the Brady Bunch on steroids as we exited the terminal. All the other passengers looked exhausted and haggard from the extremely long flight, but we were chipper and energetic as ever. I smiled wide as I saw the small group of people waiting for us.

"Jake!" I ran up and hugged his newly tanned body.

Mary Ann stood next to him, holding Maddie.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Well," Jake started. "You drove us to the airport, so we're driving you home."

Jake and I put our arms around each other and started walking out. Edward and Mary Ann followed behind us a few feet back.

"They'll talk for ages, we might as well let them be," Mary Ann laughed, adjusting Maddie on her hip.

"Here let me take her." Edward held out his arms wide.

Jake and I chatted constantly through the airport, across the parking lot, and the entire way home. Edward had to drag me out of the car mid-sentence. I couldn't help it; we had so much to talk about.

"It feels good to be home," Edward said as we unpacked our stuff.

"Yeah it does. But I miss London already. I think I fell in love."

"We'll go back."

"Pinky swear?" I held out my littlest finger.

"Pinky swear," he said as he linked his with mine.

The phone rang just as I was hanging up the last piece of clothing.

"Hello?" I lay down on the bed.

Edward sat down next to me and scooted closer.

"Bella, it's Alice. You guys should come over, I'm developing the pictures."

Edward's hands snaked around my waist and started tickling my ribs.

"What's that Alice?" I said between laughs.

"Pictures. Being developed. As we speak. Get your cute butt over here."

"Okay Alice, we'll be right there." I hung up the phone and turned back to Edward.

"She's developing our pictures, we have to go over there."

"Okay I'll go start the car."

"Actually…let's run. It's been too long since I felt the wind rush past me."

His crooked smile fell across his face before he leaped out the open window. I laughed and followed him down, my feet started to sprint before they even hit the ground.

I beat Edward to the house, although I'm fairly sure that he let me. Our playful carefree attitude was suddenly met with the stone cold expressions of our family.

"What's going on?" I said, suddenly concerned.

I saw Edward and Alice connect eyes, their usual form of conversation.

"Damnit!" He stomped into the other room.

"Edward!" I called after him. "Someone tell me what the hell is going on!"

Alice took a step forward and handed me a stack full of photos. I was very confused as to why our wedding and vacation pictures were causing such a fuss.

I took the stack of photos and started flipping through. I couldn't help but smile at the memories of our wedding. I froze when a splash of red caught my eye in the background of Edward and my cake-eating picture. I flipped to the next one. Red hair behind Jake and me. I shuddered violently as my human memories passed through my mind. As I turned to the next picture, my fist crumpled around the picture. It was her. Victoria. She was…holding Maddie with Sue looking happily on.

"How did this happen?" I said slowly through clenched teeth.

"I don't know Bella," Alice said timidly.

"No Alice! How did this happen!?" The picture was now a small wad of paper. I threw it down and walked after Edward.

He was standing with his head in his hands.

"How did you not see this? Not see her thoughts? How Edward?"

"I don't know Bella. If she wasn't thinking anything out of the ordinary I wouldn't have noticed it. And if you couldn't tell I was a little pre-occupied celebrating our marriage."

"Well what about Alice?" I was so angry I was just looking for someone to blame.

"Don't blame Alice. If there was no decision made or no harm intended, we couldn't have known."

"That is my God daughter….in her arms. Do you even realize…." My voice trailed off.

"I know." He reached for his phone.

"Jake? It's Edward. We have a bit of a situation. You need to bring Mary Ann and Maddie here as soon as possible."

He paused while Jake spoke.

"I think it'd be better to talk about it here…Okay I'll see you soon."

I sat in the chair, biting nervously on my fingernails. I wouldn't be able to calm down until they were all here, all safe. How could I have been so stupid to think that Victoria would never come back? Did I really think she'd just forgotten and moved on? Edward had killed her mate, she wouldn't just let that go, let me go. She wanted revenge.

I heard tires coming down the driveway. I leaped out of the chair and sprinted to the driveway, awaiting their arrival. As soon as Jacob put the car in park I whipped open the back seat and took Maddie in my arms. There was no way I was letting her out of my sight until this was finished.

Mary Ann took in the terrified look on my face and started to panic.

"Bella what is going on?"

"We're going to take care of it." I smiled and Maddie and tickled under her chin. "You guys will be staying here for the next couple of days at least. I'll send Emmett and Jasper for your things. Esme and Rosalie are setting up a room for you upstairs, you should go help them." I smiled to reassure her. "There's nothing to worry about, we're dealing with it."

She nodded and with one last look at Maddie she walked up the stairs. I didn't want to involve her in this if at all possible and she seemed ready to oblige to that, as long as everyone she loved was safe. I knew Jake wouldn't be as easy to appease. Plus maybe we could use the pack for help. He needed to know this, even though he would flip out.

"What's going on?" Jake said quietly as he smoothed Maddie's hair.

"Jake she was here. At the wedding." I looked around anxiously, as if she could be watching us right now.

"Who was here?"

"Victoria," Edward said as he handed the crumpled picture to Jake. He flattened it out on the table. His breathing increased and he closed his eyes.

"Jake I.."

He held his finger up. "One moment please…"

After a minute or so his breathing slowed back to normal. He turned towards me.

"What are we going to do about this?"

"You guys are staying here until we find her." I kissed Maddie on her forehead. "She's never going to have a chance to do that again," I nodded to the picture, "Even if I have to rip her apart myself."

"We may need help from the pack Jake. I'm sure they'll be more than willing."

Jake nodded, looking at Maddie.

"Daddy will be right back baby," he nuzzled noses with her before exiting the house, I assumed to phase and let the pack know what was going on.

"Edward, what exactly are we going to do?"

"Alice will be keeping a close eye on everything, as will I. We won't let Mary Ann or Maddie without at least two of us with them, meaning the pack or us. They're the only ones who wouldn't be able to protect themselves."

I shuddered as I imagined Mary Ann or Maddie coming face to face with Victoria. They'd have no chance. Victoria must know that they're important to me. She knew that we'd see the picture. It was a test to see how close she could get. And she got way too close for my liking. She wants us to know she's coming. The only question was when.

Jake burst through the door, wearing only jeans.

"What's going on Jake, what'd they say?"

"They're on their way here to discuss a plan."

Edward threw Jake a shirt. "Here man."

"Thanks," Jake said as he slipped it over his head. "I..I was so angry I couldn't get my shirt off in time."

"We're going to protect her Jake. Don't worry." I put my hand on his arm.

The pack arrived minutes later. We all congregated with exception to Esme and Mary Ann, who were still upstairs. Mary Ann was still on a need to know basis. As in she knew that there was something going on, but she didn't need to know the details.

We passed around the picture of Victoria to each of the pack members amid gasps of horror and shock.

Alice was suddenly quiet as he hands flew up to her head.

"A decision has been made." She said calmly. "2 days. And she's bringing friends."

"Where Alice?" I asked, holding Maddie tighter.

"Here. She's coming here."

"Okay that's not much time but we can manage." Edward looked cautiously at Carlisle. He smiled and nodded for him to continue. Even though I was absolutely terrified, it felt good to see Edward taking the lead, especially with encouragement from Carlisle. We had always looked to Carlisle for answers, but now it was Edward's turn. It made me proud…and made me want to rip his clothes off right then and there. _Shut up newlywed Bella, this is serious. Not a time for that._ I shook the thoughts in my head instantly away and refocused on what he was saying.

"I think that we should set up a perimeter around the house," he started. "Mary Ann and Maddie should go to the reservation. I don't really think Victoria is after them and they'd be easier to protect."

"Like Hell Maddie is leaving here." I shot him a furious look.

"Okay, okay fine. Bella will stay here with Maddie, even better." I knew why that was even better for him. Even though I was fully capable of protecting myself now that I was immortal, he still cringed at the thought of me being in any danger.

"Why can't I help?"

He caressed my face. "You will be helping love. It's no secret that you're the one she wants. If we put you out on the lines, she'll throw everything she has at you from one side. It'll be harder to defeat them. If you're in the center, you'll be better protected."

I sighed. I was helpless even when I was a vampire. Ridiculous. Maddie cooed in my arms. Maybe it wasn't so ridiculous. If I wasn't here with her every second of the day I would be crazy with worry. I probably wouldn't be much help anyway.

"Okay fine. Two days then." I held Maddie tighter.

"Two days."

**A/N: We're coming up to the big climax of the story. Only a few more chapters to go. : ) And I know I said this would be a long chapter. But it seemed fitting to end there. Next one will be a big one.  
**


	25. Attack

The entire house had been a flurry of people since yesterday. The pack was staying here in the living room. Jake, Mary Ann and Maddie were staying in Edward's old room. The rest of us were busying making plans.

Alice said that Victoria would be making her appearance around daybreak tomorrow, but she hadn't decided exactly where yet. She was still waiting to decide something.

Edward was standing around the dining room table, which held a map of the property. The entire pack and the rest of our family were crowded around it, while Edward pointed out several places.

"Jacob, Seth, Leah…you'll be stationed here." He pointed to a spot on the map. "Jasper, Alice, Esme you'll be here….Carlisle, Emmett, Rosalie..here. The rest of the pack will be here. I'll be sitting here…"

"You're by yourself?" I whispered in panic.

"I'll be fine love. I'm fairly close to Jake and his group. If I get in any trouble they'll be there. I can take care of myself." He winked at me.

That did not put my once-beating heart at ease. My whole body shuddered at the thought of my Edward coming face to face with Victoria…alone. A fierce snarl ripped quietly through my chest.

"Relax Bella. I'll be fine. You need to worry about being prepared and taking care of Maddie if the time comes. And it won't." He eyed the rest of the group. They nodded in approval. They weren't going to let her get to me. If my safety wasn't enough incentive, I'm sure Maddie's would be.

"You guys should all head to bed. I want you all in tiptop shape for tomorrow. We're up at 3:30 a.m. just to cover our bases." Edward nodded at each one of them before they dispersed to their respective sleeping quarters.

"Jake do you want me to take her?" Maddie didn't even look close to being tired and I knew Jake was exhausted.

"Thanks Bell, but I think tonight's a good night for me to put her to sleep myself. You know, just in case."

"Hey don't talk like that. Everything's going to be fine, except for that red-headed bitch."

"Okay, okay. Goodnight Bells."

"Goodnight." I kissed Jake on the cheek and Maddie on the top of her head.

Edward and I retreated to the library while the others slept or didn't sleep depending on their species.

I pulled myself up to sit on the edge of Carlisle's desk and crossed my arms as Edward closed the door.

"Stop pouting," he said before he even turned around.

"Edward how can I not be pouting right now." He walked over to me and I put my arms around his waist. "You're going to be out there, by yourself, protecting me from a crazy woman while I sit in the house doing nothing."

"Which is exactly how it should be. I don't feel sorry for wanting to protect you and I'm not going to apologize for it."

"I know. I know you just want to protect me and Maddie and I love you for it, I really do, but it still makes me nervous."

"Don't. Be. Nervous." He smiled and bent down to kiss me. "You just worry about yourself and that's it."

"I can't help it." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well," he began. "Maybe I should…distract you somehow." He ran his lips across the skin of my neck.

"Hmmm. It's definitely working a little bit. But I may be in need of a little more persuasion."

"I think I can handle that…" He tilted my head back and kissed my neck tenderly.

"Oh yeah. Definitely distracted." I started unbuttoning his shirt. I looked down at the desk and back up at Edward. "Do you think Carlisle would mind?"

"What Carlisle doesn't know won't hurt him." He pulled his shirt off as I did mine.

I tapped my foot as we stood above the heap of wood that used to be Carlisle desk a couple of hours later.

"You really think he won't know?"

He raised his eyebrow at me then glanced from the pile of wood on the floor to the broken bookshelves and the smattering of books across the floor.

"Nah. He'll barely notice."

We wrapped our arms around each other and started to walk out of the library. Edward kicked a pile of bookshelf that lay destroyed on the floor.

"Good work Mrs. Cullen." He kissed the top of my head.

"You too Mr. Cullen."

Emmett was passing by as we exited the library. He froze when he saw what was inside.

"What the hell did you guys….?" A look of understanding spread across his face. "Oh. Carlisle's going to be pissed. He loved that desk."

Carlisle passed by just then, heading for his library. "Hey have you guys seen my…?" He looked out the room, then back in again. "Am I in the right room?"

Emmett snickered.

"Sorry Carlisle," Edward and I said in unison.

"When this whole thing is over you will be replacing the desk, and the bookshelves, and hopefully disinfect that chair." He pointed to his office chair, which was way out of place over on the other side of the room. "But for right now we have bigger problems. It's almost time."

Everyone had assembled down in the living room by the time we got down there.

"Where were you two, we were looking everywhere." Alice skipped up to us.

"Maybe you should have checked the room formally known as Carlisle's study." Emmett laughed again.

"Can't you guys just focus on something other than ripping each other's clothes off for two seconds?"

Edward and I exchanged looks.

"Okay," Alice continued. "Maybe that was too much to ask. But it's time. We need to get into position."

The pack started to exit the house to take their spots. Mary Ann left for the reservation, very unwillingly. She wasn't too keen on leaving her husband and her baby here, but I promised her I would take care of them.

"Jake," I grabbed his arm as he headed out the door. "Take care of yourself please. You have two very lovely girls that will be waiting back here for you. Not to mention your wife will kill me if you get hurt."

"Oh Bella, you're always so overdramatic. This is going to be fun."

"Yeah fun," I said with no humor as he left. I adjusted Maddie on my hip.

Edward was the last one left in the room.

"And you sir will be in a lot of trouble if you get yourself in trouble and I have to come save your ass."

"As sexy as that sounds Bella, it won't be necessary." He placed his lips on mine. "Love you."

"I love you." He started to pull back but I grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him back in. "I mean it Edward Cullen. No funny stuff. Do what you need to do and come back to me."

His eyes seared deep into mine. "I promise Bella. I'll come back to you." And then he was gone.

I looked around at the empty house. "I guess it's just you and me little girl."

Maddie brought her hand up to her eye and rubbed, showing her existing exhaustion.

"You want to take a nap?" I cooed.

She looked back at me with a look in her eye that answered a definite yes.

I carried her up the stairs and grabbed her crib, carrying it back down the stairs with one hand. I placed it next to the couch and laid Maddie in it. She was out in moments. I sat on the couch, watching her sleep for awhile. The sun was just starting to rise above the horizon.

My legs just couldn't sit still. I rotated pacing along the window to staring out it. There was no movement, no sound. As I gazed out across the treeline, I saw the trees falter in the distance. And again to the left and to the right. They were here.

It took all the strength I had to keep my feet from running towards them to help, but I had to protect Maddie. I picked up Maddie, who was still sound asleep and rocked her back and forth while I stood at the window.

A piercing scream echoed through the air. My breath stopped. Who was it? One of ours, or one of theirs. It was definitely a woman. Alice? Rosalie? Victoria? Leah? Then I heard something that made the venom rise up in my mouth.

"No! Edward!" That was definitely Alice. The prickly feeling returned to my eyes. I couldn't breathe, I didn't know what to do. I looked frantically back and forth between Maddie and the forest. Do I take her with me? Do I leave her here? I wasn't prepared to deal with the consequences of either situation, but I couldn't just stand here.

I was suddenly aware of someone sneaking into the front door.

"Not another move," Victoria hissed. I froze in my place, holding Maddie close to me. She stepped forward, revealing more of herself…and Edward, who she was dragging along with her. The breath I'd been holding in since I'd heard his name came whooshing out. It wasn't great that Victoria had gotten to him, but he was still alive. He was still here with me. And he looked absolutely livid. I can imagine that he was out of his mind crazy that she had somehow managed to catch him. I can't believe that she did in the first place. Edward was one of the best fighters I'd seen. And with his ability to foresee his opponent's moves, something must have happened to distract him. There was no way Victoria was simply a better fighter. No way.

"I told you I'd come back to you," Edward whispered. He began to look completely defeated. Like he'd lost. Like this was all his fault.

"You always do." I tried to smile at him. I guess this was all up to me now. I'd get the fight that I'd wanted in the first place.

"Put the baby down, she's of no interest to me," Victoria commanded. I didn't move. My eyes shifted to Edward.

She snarled and brought her lips down to Edward's neck.

"Do it, or your husband will be a head shorter!"

My eyes locked with Edward's; I was absolutely terrified for him. But now was no time to show it. Maintaining eye contact with him, I carefully set Maddie down in her bassinet and pushed it slightly into the other room. I wanted her as far away from this as possible.

"Let him go Victoria, it's me you want, you can have me." I stretched my arms out, presenting an easy target.

"You really think my aim in this whole thing was to kill you?" She laughed an evil laugh.

I was confused. A look of ease spread across Edward's face. How could he be so content right now? We were both about to die. No. Not both of us. Victoria just said she didn't want to kill me.

"This is about Edward?" I hissed. A snarl came from my chest.

"Well no actually it's about the both of you. You're both going to pay for what happened to James, but Edward's punishment is going to be a little more…physical."

That's why Edward looked happy. Victoria wasn't planning on harming me, my body anyway. She was going to kill Edward to hurt me. To take my mate away from her like James had been taken away from her. She blamed me, not Edward for it. I was the reason James was gone and she planned to hurt me in the worst way possible. She was going to let me live an eternity without my love, since she was doomed to the same fate.

All the fear, all the anxiety that had built up within me for my family and the pack dissolved in an instant. In its place was anger and a fierce desire to stand up and defend myself and the people I love.

I crouched low, ready to spring on Victoria.

"Watch it Princess…" she warned. "Boys?"

Two male vampires stepped into the room.

"I wouldn't want you to…interfere while I'm busy with Edward."

The two vampires stepped in front of me, blocking my way to Victoria and Edward.

"Boys don't block out the show for Bella here. She needs to see this."

As the two men stepped slightly aside, my feet pushed off from the ground and I sprung onto one of the men. We tumbled violently across the floor, crashing into the wall. The man was strong, but not as strong as I was. I still had newborn blood running through my veins. I had the man in the same position as Victoria had Edward, my teeth to his neck.

"Let him go now or you'll lose one of your friends." I started to drag my teeth across the man's neck, leaving a deep gash.

"Kill him. I could care less. He's more or less served his purpose."

Dammit. I was counting on using the men as pawns. I dug my teeth fiercely into the man's neck and threw his head across the room, then his arms and his legs. Keeping my eyes on Edward, I walked across the room, grabbed a match and lit the pile of limbs on fire.

"Do you care to join your friend sir? I gestured to the other vampire.

It was only then that I really looked at the other man. My knees buckled and I fell to the floor.

"Dad?" I felt myself gasping for breath as I looked up at the vampire who was a shell of what my father used to be.

The man was breathing heavily, bloodlust full and apparent in his eyes.

"It was fairly easy to sneak into the hospital morgue after poor old daddy here bit the dust. I got to him just in time to save him." She looked lovingly at my father.

"Dad, please…" I whispered. I looked into my father's red eyes, searching for him, for any part of him that might be left. He was gone. In his place was a bloodthirsty still newborn vampire who was desperate and trusted Victoria. I can't even imagine what lies she'd told him. Maybe that we were eating all of the food sources around? Or that we were an evil coven trying to hunt them down? Whatever it was, the amount of hate in his eyes was immeasurable.

He lunged slightly towards me. I reacted by springing up into a crouch. I was going to have to kill my father. I didn't know if I had the strength in me to do it.

In the time it took me to contemplate my thoughts, Charlie sprung at me, knocking me to the ground. We landed within inches of the fire that was starting to burn in the house. We rolled away from the fire as Charlie pinned me to the ground. He bent his lips down to my throat, close to my ear and I knew this was the end. We had lost. My own father was going to kill me and Victoria was going kill Edward. Hopefully they wouldn't hurt Maddie, it was the least I could ask for.

"Just play along Bells," my dad whispered into my ear. My sprits lifted immensely. He knew me. He knew who I was. This was all an act. I smiled a little.

"I love you Dad." I whispered back into his ear.

"Love you too baby. Now I'm going to pull you up, okay?"

"Okay."

He pulled us both to our feet. Edward's face turned from terrified to absolutely content. He could read Charlie's mind. He'd just seen our whole exchange in his head.

"What do you want me to do with her Victoria?" Charlie twisted my arms around my back as I pretended to struggle.

"Bring her close. I want her to see the terror and the hurt in Edward's eyes as I rip him apart." I instinctually growled. I couldn't help it, even though I knew there was no danger now. Victoria was immensely outnumbered, but my protective spirit always reared its head whenever Edward was involved.

We stumbled forward until Edward's face and mine were within inches of each other.

"I'm so sorry Edward," I whispered, playing into Victoria's game. "I love you." I nuzzled into his neck.

"It's okay. It's okay." He answered. "I love you too."

"I want you to take Maddie and Charlie and get out of here Edward. Don't argue with me, I'm way too pissed off already. I need to finish this." I made sure to whisper that soft enough and quick enough that Victoria wouldn't hear. He didn't acknowledge.

"Edward," I whispered fiercely through clenched teeth. "I swear to you if you don't do as I tell you, you will be in more trouble than you could ever imagine. Promise me?"

"I promise." His voice rang out loudly. Victoria seemed a little confused about our intimate conversation and his resounding answer, but she didn't look suspicious. I backed away a little and Edward nodded to Charlie.

"Time to start the show. Where should I start? Not the head." She ran her fingers over Edward's body, deciding where to begin her torture. "I wouldn't want you to miss the look in each other's eyes."

She paused at his left leg and bent her head down, revealing her teeth. Her head ripped back as she was about to strike. Charlie let go of my arms an instant before her head went forward and I lunged into her, knocking her away from Edward. We tumbled to the ground, rolling until we crashed into the couch. It catapulted through the window, shattering it into a million pieces. When I stole a glance back, the room was empty. Good. He had listened to me, for once.

Victoria was crouched in attack mode when I stood up. She held a sharp shard of glass in her hand.

"That was a very risky move Bella, now you're all by yourself." She snickered. We circled around each other, hisses and snarls coming from both of us. "You know I was fully intent on leaving you alive so you'd had to suffer. But now you've just pissed me off, so I think I'll kill you. Then I'll kill Edward…and Jake…and the rest of your family. Especially your traitor of a father."

"That would scare me Victoria, if I didn't know that you were never going to get the chance to. This ends here."

I lunged at her again and felt the blade of the glass slice into my arm. We wrestled on the floor for what felt like an eternity, alternating blows. She threw me away from her, through the broken window. I landed with a thud outside. I saw her spring to her feet in the living room. Her body suddenly shifted direction. Then I saw him.

"Dammit Edward! Why did you come back?!" He was standing at the entryway of the living room, ready to fight. He looked from me to Victoria, not sure what to do. I saw the smile spread across her face as she prepared to lunge at him, as my shouting momentarily distracted him.

My body hurled into her a moment before she reached Edward, crashing us both through the wall. I had her pinned to the ground and for the first time today, she looked scared.

"Please Bella," she pleaded.

My grasp eased a little. Was she really begging for her life?

I should have known it was a game. She kicked me up off of her and sprang to her feet.

"Stupid girl. You know this will never end until one of us dies. I'll always be there, hunting you down, hunting your family down until all of you are gone. You'll never be safe. Just remember that."

An anger I'd never known rose up in my chest. It was like everything was on fire inside of me. It wasn't burning, or painful like the venom had been. But just a deep heat that radiated from every place on my body.

Victoria smiled and started to leap towards the window to her escape. Without knowing what happened or how it happened, the large dining room table flew from across the room and smashed into Victoria, pinning her against the wall. She looked around disoriented and tried to push the table off of her. It wouldn't budge. The heat that had built up in my body had eased, almost like it had erupted. Did I do that? Did I push that table into Victoria? It was impossible, I hadn't even moved. The fire started rising up again in my anger and frustration. I concentrated harder on the table and Victoria. The table moved impossibly closer to Victoria, pinning her further. She screamed in pain. I was doing this. But it was all in my head. I smiled at my newfound talent. Maybe I was a special one after all.

I walked slowly and smugly over to Victoria, laughing each time I pressed the table tighter to her.

"I'm sorry Victoria. You won't be hunting anyone down. In fact you'll never hunt anything again in your life. You'll never have the opportunity or even the chance to hurt anyone I love ever again. It's done now." I placed my hands on either side of her head. "I hope you rot in hell you evil bitch." With a snap of my wrist her head was independent of her body. I released the table from the rest of her body and finished the job. As I bent down to collect the pieces to throw them into the fire, Edward walked into the room.

"Bella I…"

"Why did you come back Edward? I was handling it!" My anger had not completely subsided. He almost ruined everything.

"Yeah you were handling it just fine! She just threw you out a window!" He threw parts of Victoria into the fire.

"You have to trust me Edward!" I threw her head down hard, frustrated with the whole situation.

We both stopped and turned towards each other.

"You. Have. To trust me." I repeated. "All the way."

He stared at me for a moment before his face softened.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I should have trusted that you could handle this. But you have to understand. You know that worry in the pit of your stomach the entire time I was out in the forest and you were stuck here?" I didn't answer, but I knew it. I felt nauseous the whole time. He had felt that too. Like he should be helping me. Like he was abandoning me, leaving me on my own. He would have blamed himself for the rest of time if he hadn't come back and something would have happened to me.

I ran to him and threw my arms around him. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." He nuzzled into my hair. "Am I still going to pay for this later?"

"Yep."

He winced.

"Remember our little escapade in Carlisle's office?"

He smiled my favorite crooked smile.

"Not happening again anytime soon…in any other room." I knew I was lying, but in all honesty I would love watching him squirm while he believed it.

"Ouch."

"Where is everyone? Are they okay?"

"Everyone's fine. But we should really get out of here before the entire house burns down." I looked around and saw that most of the house was engulfed in flames.

"Sorry I burned your house down," I said as we walked hand in hand out of the inferno to meet our family.

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to. All of Alice's clothes were in there."

"Eh…." I was definitely in a lot of trouble.

**A/N: Yay for kicking Victoria's ass. I was a little hesitant to bring Charlie back into the story as a vampire, but the idea just randomly struck me as I was writing so I decided to see where I could go with it, and I actually like it. So the next chapter will probably be the last one and probably won't be incredibly long, just kind of tying everything up. **


	26. Epilogue

**A/N: As promised, its a really short chapter, if you can even call it that. I'd just call it an epilogue. Just wrapping things up. Thanks so much for reading and make sure to read the author's note at the end for a surprise. : )**

The group was gathered together watching the house burn to the ground. Esme had her hand over her mouth in disbelief, with Carlisle's arm wrapped lovingly around her waist, comforting her. Emmett was grinning from ear to ear, like he'd just heard some good joke. Alice stared, no she shot daggers at me with her eyes, as she tapped her foot against the ground. The force of her foot had permanently pressed down the blades of grass.

"Alice…" I put my hands out in defense. "I'm really….really….really sorry."

She didn't say anything. Emmett laughed again.

"Alice….Alice…?"

Nothing.

"You can go on a shopping spree. On me."

"I don't need your money Bella." At least that was a reaction.

"Okay, okay. I will….I will go with you, while you go on your shopping spree. You can even buy me clothes…and I will try them on with no complaints."

Alice crossed her arms. "No complaints?" She raised her eyebrow.

"None."

"Okay then you are completely forgiven." She finally smiled.

Emmett laughed again.

"What the hell are you laughing at Emmett?" I spun towards him and put my hands on my hips.

"I'm proud of you little sister. You kicked some vampire ass in there." He held up his hand for a high five. I laughed and slapped it.

I stepped towards Esme.

"Esme, I'm really sorry."

She leaned forward and hugged me.

"Don't you worry about it sweetheart. I'm just glad you're okay."

Jake and Maddie stepped out of the woods and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jake," I ran to him. "Thank goodness you're okay."

"Thanks for taking care of Maddie Bella. It means everything to me."

"Of course," I patted Maddie lightly on the back. "I would never let anything happen to this little girl."

I kissed Jake on the cheek and walked back to meet Edward.

He wrapped his arms around my waist as I reached up and kissed him,

"So what now?"

He laughed. "Rebuild the house. Start our new life. Start from scratch. No worries, no cares."

"Brand new?"

"Brand new."

**A/N: So that's it guys : ) Some reviewers have asked about Charlie...He's in the "group" thats standing there watching the fire. I didn't really want to close things out with a definite ending so I kind of left that open. I just didn't mention him among the group just like I didn't mention Jasper or Rosalie. I only pointed on the people who were doing significant actions at the time. Rest assured, they were there. I know some people have asked about a sequel and as of right now I don't have any plans to do one, just because I have some other ideas I want to try, but I'm not definitely ruling it out. So just to get you guys excited I've posted the play list for my next story in my profile…as well as a teaser below : ) so let me guys know what you think and keep an eye out for when I start posting chapters for it. It's called "Best Served Cold" and I hope you like it. Also side note it is a B/E story, so nobody freak. They'll be there. XOXO  
**

"_Best Served Cold"_

I shook my head as I took a sip of coffee. I decided since I was over on this side of the office I should go to the bathroom. This was the nice part of being the only woman in the office; I pretty much had my own bathroom. I looked myself over in the mirror. My black pencil skirt was immaculately wrinkle free. I adjusted my shirt slightly. My mind wandered as I contemplated over the buttons at the top. They called me Agent Boobs anyway, why not work it to my advantage. I undid one button, and then another, making sure that my cleavage was peeping out the top. I pulled my hair down from the low bun it had been in to let if flow freely down my back. I shook it out one last time before exiting the bathroom.

The office had turned silent, which wasn't a usual occurrence. I stepped into the silence and right into the middle of Carlisle speaking. His eyes were full of strain and stress.

"…his body was found earlier this morning…"

My mind flew back to that day three months ago when he had uttered those same words to me. I remembered collapsing on the floor, screaming when anyone tried to touch me. I forced myself back to the present....


End file.
